Babysteps
by Aaliamad
Summary: After their Season 5 summer fling Jackie and Hyde agree to go their separate ways and keep their creepy and unnatural secret to themselves. All goes well until they have to explain to their friends that Jackie is having a baby...Hyde's baby. Amidst the fallout that ensues, Hyde & Jackie still have to prepare for parenthood and work out what they are to each other.
1. Chapter 1

**_A/N: Okay so I started this story to try and get over the writer's block I was stuck with in my other story. Long story short, it hasn't helped but I now have 8 chapters of this one ready and waiting. I've decided to post now and see if there's any interest so leave a review and let me know whether to continue. Maybe if I stop this I'll get back to writing the final two chapters of my last story...you just never know!_**

 ** _Backstory: I know, I know - Jackie pregnant - how very unoriginal. But...in this story she finds out she's pregnant after her and Hyde's season 5 summer fling. Everything that happened previous to that is the same, but in this story Jackie and Hyde decide to go their separate ways when Kelso and Donna return therefore no one finds out about their hook up - until they have to tell everyone she's pregnant that is._**

* * *

Jackie's feet padded the length of the grand Burkhart foyer for what felt like the hundredth time. It had only been 20 minutes but to the small seventeen year old doing the pacing those minutes seemed like years and the marble floor beneath her bare feet felt more like hot coals. She checked her watch again. 3.30pm. In just over two hours her father's Lincoln was sure to be pulling up the long driveway and she needed to get this over with before it did.

Keys in the lock drew her attention to the door and she ran over to the short, plump woman walking through it.

"God, what took you so long?" Jackie growled, pulling a paper bag out of the woman's hand.

Rosa, the Burkhart's loyal housekeeper, sighed as she unzipped her thin jacket and hung it on the hooks by the door. "Miss Jackie, it's after 3 on a Friday, the town very busy," she explained.

"Rosa, we live in Point Place, not New York City. Point Place doesn't do busy, the town can barely hold ten people at a time. If I find out you stopped to gossip with your maid buddies I'll-"

Shaking her head the maid took Jackie's hand. "No, Miss Jackie, no gossiping today, I promise. Now come," she said, leading Jackie up the large staircase, "you must hurry before your Papa come home. I don't know why you bother though, we already know answer."

Jackie held the paper bag tightly in one hand and Rosa's hand even more firmly in the other. As much as she didn't want to believe it she knew Rosa was right. She did know the answer. She'd known five tests ago. But it didn't mean she wasn't still hanging onto hope that a great big batch of pregnancy tests were duds and that she had just happened to buy all of them.

"Just one more." Jackie opened the bathroom door before turning to look down at Rosa. "After this one I promise I'll believe it, Rosa."

Rosa's lips crept into a small smile that belied the worry evident in her big brown eyes. "Good, because I no buy anymore of those things. Man at drugstore think I'm crazy!"

"Last one," Jackie said as she waved the bag about, "I promise."

Jackie closed the door and began the drill that over the last week had become a thrice daily ritual. She no longer had to read the instructions on the packet, it was all too easy. She'd even perfected the art of collecting 'mid-stream'. Just like everything else in her life, Jackie was good at doing pregnancy tests. So much so that she wondered if she should become an obstetric nurse when she was older. If the job entailed just administering and reading pregnancy tests she'd be a shoe-in for nurse of the year.

As she placed the little yellow cup on the bathroom vanity there was a small knock on the door.

"Everything okay, Miss Jackie?"

Jackie opened the door and smiled at Rosa who was still standing in the same place. "Now we wait," Jackie said. She walked to her desk and pulled her chemistry textbook out of her bag. "May as well do some homework while that stick works it's magic."

The first test Jackie had taken, last Sunday, had been done in a blur and the two hours she'd waited for the results had been absolutely torturous. Sitting on the bathroom floor, with Rosa at her side, Jackie was sure she'd heard every single minute tick by on Rosa's cheap watch while she waited to see her fate. When the test had been positive she'd burst into tears and ordered Rosa to go and buy five more tests, each one taken through a myriad of tears, screams, sobs, and curse words. Yes, Sunday to Thursday had not been kind to Jackie. Not that today had been any more giving, but at least she had made it through the day without an array of comments such as "Jackie, you look terrible!" and "Oh my, Jackie, are you ill?" There had been no tears at school today, well no visible ones anyway. Instead she'd cried on the inside and told everyone that the terrible bout of food poisoning she'd picked up from the nasty new deli in town had finally passed.

Two hours later Jackie still didn't know what Charles' Law stated about gases and temperature but she did know that she was pregnant. As she tipped her urine down the toilet she felt a single tear trickle down her cheek.

"Enough!" she said to herself in the mirror. Her eyes were deep set and bloodshot, tell tale signs of the week from hell she'd just had. She quickly splashed cold water over her face and dabbed it dry with a towel. " _You_ are Jackie Burkhart. You may be seventeen and..." Okay, this pep talk to herself may be harder to get out that she'd prepared for. "You may be seventeen and pre...pregnant-" a wave of nausea washed over Jackie as she said the last word, but still she continued, "-but you are still Jackie Burkhart and she never gives up." She smiled at the look of determination on her face. "It will be hard, but you will be okay, so there will be no more tears!" With that Jackie bounded out of her bathroom trying to hide the fact (from nobody in particular) that she didn't believe a word of what she'd just said.

...

Sitting through dinner with her father had been a painful experience. Over chicken cacciatore her father had asked her ten thousand questions about school, cheerleading, boys, and the worst of all, her future. She was almost positive that she had a sign on her head that said "Daddy, I'm an idiot and I'm knocked up". Why else would he have chosen tonight to take such an interest in her life? Usually his eyes were glued to the nightly news while they ate, only aiming them in Jackie's direction to ask her to pass the dinner rolls. But there was no news tonight, well not on the television anyway.

After twirling the chicken and pasta around on her plate for twenty minutes Jackie had asked to be excused. Jack Burkhart must've grown tired of trying to be a father because his eyes lit up at her request and he enthusiastically granted her permission to leave and handed her a fifty dollar note for good measure. Last Friday Jackie would've delighted in his generosity and slipped into something pretty before slipping out of the house to find something to do. But tonight those normal teenage shenanigans already felt like distant memories. She was pregnant; knocked up; had a bun in the oven. And all she wanted to do was curl up on her bed and die.

"Going to bed already?" Rosa poked her head around Jackie's door just as Jackie hopped into said bed and right before she planned to die.

"Might as well, Rosa. Hopefully when I wake up this will all be a dream and I'll no longer be a disgusting harlot with a bastard child growing inside me." Jackie pulled the comforter up to her chin, cocooning herself in the safety of her bed.

Rosa chuckled, shuffling closer to Jackie. "Always with the dramatics, Miss Jackie," she said, fluffing the pillows and tucking in the sheets just like she had every night of Jackie's life. "I know it hard for you, but you will be okay. You strong girl, you can handle this. I here for you. And the child."

Jackie's eyes closed for a moment when Rosa's soft hand stroked her forehead. Whenever she'd had a problem that couldn't be fixed with her father's money, Rosa had fixed it for her. But this was something Rosa couldn't fix no matter how much Jackie begged or threatened her. No one could fix this.

"I don't think I can handle this though, Rosa. Not a baby." If there was one person Jackie could be honest with, it was Rosa. The maid never judged her, never set her ridiculously high expectations that she struggled to meet. Jackie was able to be her real self in front of Rosa and Rosa seemed to love her, all of her. She was the only person in the world who knew the real Jackie Burkhart. "Even if I survive telling my parents I don't think I could handle the ridicule I'll get at school. Those cheerleader bitches-"

Rosa frowned. "Language..."

"-sorry. Those cheerleader _friends_ of mine will crucify me for this! Teenage pregnancy happens to girls in trailer parks. Or sluts. It doesn't happen to people like _me._ I'm better than that. I'm rich...and pretty...and I'll be successful one day."

"But it _has_ happened to you, Miss Jackie," Rosa pointed out, almost crushing Jackie with the truth. "Maybe once you tell Michael you feel better? Not so alone?" Rosa bent down and gently kissed Jackie's cheek, while Jackie inwardly cringed at the sound of her ex's name. "Goodnight, beautiful," Rosa quietly said as she turned to leave the room.

"Goodnight, Rosa," Jackie said before she quickly sat up. "Oh, and Rosa, thank you for getting me all those tests -I know it would've been embarrassing for you...although not quite as embarrassing as it would've been for me."

Rosa turned around and Jackie could just make out her face through the light coming in from the hallway. "Your welcome, Miss Jackie. But you leave me not much choice, you have me fired if I don't get them. You a wicked, wicked girl sometimes," she growled.

Jackie grinned. "I know that, Rosa," she admitted. "And I learned from the best." Burying her head in her pillow Jackie could just hear Rosa mutter "Mrs. Pamela" amongst a slew of Spanish curse words she'd become accustomed to hearing from the mouths of their Mexican help. _Pamela._ If only her mother was here right now. If there was one woman who knew how to soften a blow to a man it was Pamela Burkhart and as she was currently on vacation in Brazil there was no way in hell Jackie was telling her father about the pregnancy. He would hit the roof. Probably pack her off to some Catholic boarding school out East or to some 90 year old aunt's house she'd never met. No. Until Pamela was back Jackie would be the only Burkhart who knew their family was literally growing.

Jackie rolled onto her side and pushed her hair away from face. It was hot. Too hot to be snuggled so tightly in her blankets but Jackie needed to hold onto something and as there was no mother, father, or boyfriend to hold onto her heavy comforter was it. She thought about the fifty dollars her father had given her after dinner and realised she probably should've offered it to Rosa as payment for overtime, then maybe she would've stayed longer, even just until Jackie fell asleep. But no. The fifty was still scrunched up in the pocket of her shorts and her maid, slash nanny, slash best friend, had gone home for the night and wouldn't be back until 6am ready to prepare breakfast. Jackie was alone.

Kind of.

There was still the fetus growing inside her.

The fetus that was conceived sometime over summer during one of the many hot, dirty, hook up sessions Jackie had partaken in with someone who was not her boyfriend. Someone she didn't love. Someone who until fairly recently she hadn't even liked all that much, and who had made it clear on many occasion hadn't liked her either.

Clenching the comforter tightly in her fist Jackie closed her eyes. Her life was a mess. And it was going to get a whole lot messier before it got any better.

...

The next morning Jackie was still alive, still pregnant, and her mother still wasn't home. So she did what any normal girl in her situation would do; she got herself as dressed up as she could and went to tell another teenage girl her dilemma so that they could fix it together. Who better to understand and guide a teenage girl than another teenage girl?

When she arrived Jackie didn't bother knocking on the Pinciotti's kitchen door. Bob and Donna were both completely boring therefore she knew she wouldn't be interrupting anything of importance. In fact, her arrival was sure to liven the place up.

"Hi, Bob," she said with a forced smile as she closed the door behind her.

Bob looked up from his bowl of cereal and grinned. "Good morning, Jackie. Haven't seen you here for a while, how's life?"

Jackie positioned her sunglasses on her head and did her best demonstration of a seventeen year old girl whose life was completely normal. "Oh life is great thanks. My summer tan hasn't faded and my dad's giving me money again. All is well in the world," she said before frowning. "Well, as well as could be expected considering you took my best friend away from me and sent her to that dreary catholic school. It's thrown everything off for me at school you know?"

Picking up his full bowl of cereal Bob rushed to the sink. "I've told all of you kids, Donna needed to be punished. She couldn't get away with running off to California. I did what any good father would do-"

"What? You punished her by dressing her up in a skanky catholic schoolgirl uniform to make her even more desirable to the boys? Yeah, that's teaching her a lesson alright...lesson being - a short, plaid uniform will bring all the boys to the yard."

"Jackie!" Donna stood in the kitchen, the door swinging behind her, her jaw dropping to the floor.

Jackie's face lit up at the sight of her friend. "Hey, Donna. Quick-" she rushed over and pulled Donna back through the door, ignoring Bob's ramblings about the benefits of a Catholic education, "-I really need to talk to you."

"Jackie, what the hell were you just saying to my dad? I heard you say my uniform is skanky and I'll have you know it's not. Millions of girls worldwide wear uniforms and it's not to please pervy males, it's to-"

Jackie waved a hand in the air as she made her way to Donna's room. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, Donna. We have bigger problems to deal with right now than your school attire, will you just hurry up." After pulling the redhead into her bedroom Jackie closed the door and took a seat on Donna's bed. Donna, clearly still upset about Jackie's attempt at getting Bob to change his mind about schooling, stood by the door with her arms folded across her chest.

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't call me a skank to my dad," she growled.

"I didn't call you a skank, I called your uniform skanky, and for your information I said it to help you. You should be thanking me."

Donna's brow furrowed as she glared at Jackie. "Help me? How exactly?"

"Bob doesn't want boys after his daughter, he can barely tolerate your poor excuse of a boyfriend nextdoor. If he thinks guys are after you because of your school attire he'll let you come back to Point Place High and resume your position as school lumberjack. I have it all figured out." Explaining this all to Donna was growing tiresome, and frankly, quite boring. Jackie stretched out on the bed, holding her head up in her hand. "By the way, your welcome."

"Jackie, did you ever think I may not _want_ to come back to Point Place High? It's been a month now and I kinda like Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow-"

Jackie gasped. "You can't be serious?"

"I've made friends there," Donna said, taking a seat at her desk. "Plus there's the added bonus of not being with Eric every day at school. We have a chance to miss each other now which makes it even better when we see each other after school...if you get what I mean." She winked and a sly grin crossed her face. Jackie's face, however, screwed up in disgust.

"Ew, gross, I don't want to hear anymore about you and Eric." Pulling one of Donna's flower cushions into her chest Jackie braced herself for the big reveal. "I get you may think you're happy at that school, but have you ever thought about how I feel-"

"Not really."

"-I need you back at school with me, Donna."

Donna looked puzzled. "Why? We didn't hang all that much at school anyway. You have your cheerleader pals, you don't need me."

In a perfect world Jackie wouldn't need Donna by her side at school but Jackie's world had recently gone from perfect to downright crappy. Once the girls at school found out about her pregnancy she'd be dropped quicker than a hot potato and would spend her remaining time at school as an outcast. Her only hope was her best friend coming back.

"I won't have those girls by my side for much longer," she explained.

"Why not? Have they all found an exclusive cheerleader school to go to?" Donna laughed.

"Of course not! If there was such a thing I'd totally be going." Jackie sat up, keeping the cushion tight against her stomach. "No, they'll leave me once they find out that I'm..." Not sure that she could say the word out loud to someone that wasn't Rosa, Jackie paused.

"You're what?"

"I'm," Jackie started. "I'm pregnant." Her eyes shot up to look at Donna just as the pen in Donna's hand fell to the table.

" _You're what_?!"

"Pregnant, Donna. I, Jackie Burkhart, am with child." That sounded a whole lot nicer than knocked-up or up the duff, and a lot less slutty. Jackie decided she'd probably go with that when she told her daddy. However, it didn't seem to be softening the blow right now. Donna looked more surprised than when she'd found Fez naked in her shower.

"Oh my god..." she stuttered.

"Pull yourself together would you? I'm the one pregnant and in crisis and I came here for your help, not to watch saliva drip out of your gaping mouth because you all of a sudden lost the ability to swallow. Focus, Donna, focus!"

Donna closed her mouth before blinking rapidly. She sat up, attempting to regain some composure. "Sorry," she mumbled. "Look, Jackie, are you sure? Like really, really sure? You've had a scare before so maybe-"

"I'm 16 tests and 2 boxes of tissues sure," Jackie explained, remembering the wastepaper bin in her bedroom overflowing with white balls of tissues from all the tears she'd cried this week. "So now do you see why I need you at school? You have to come back, you just have to."

"Jackie, me coming back to Point Place High is the _least_ of your worries right now. You have way bigger problems than who you're gonna sit next to at lunchtime. What have your parents said? Are they mad?"

"Mom's on vacation, dad's busy at work," Jackie shrugged, " so they don't know. I've only told you and Rosa."

Donna leaned forward. "What did Rosa say?" she asked.

"Oh the usual...it's not the end of the world, she'll support me yadda yadda yadda," Jackie's eyes flicked up and stared straight into her friend's, "But she doesn't get it, Donna. I don't think they had cheerleading squads in her village in Mexico so she can't possibly understand the social exclusion I'm about to face." Falling back dramatically on the bed, she cried, "I'm doomed, Donna, doomed!"

Donna stood up and walked to the bed, sitting down next to Jackie. Rubbing her hand up and down Jackie's arm she stayed silent for a moment, allowing Jackie this moment of self-pity. The moment wasn't long enough though and she soon asked the question Jackie was dreading. "Have you told Kelso?"

Telling everyone who the father was would be harder than telling everyone she was pregnant. It would not go down well and it could potentially change the lives of a lot of people. Bravely, Jackie sat and turned to Donna. "No, I haven't told, Michael," she began. "Because Michael isn't the father."

Looking more stumped than before, the redhead asked, "It's not Kelso? Then who? Who have you been seeing? You told me you didn't meet anyone over summer."

It was gonna come out sooner or later, Jackie had always known that. She just hadn't figured her sordid hook up with Hyde would be revealed because it resulted in a pregnancy. In her head, years from now when everyone was settled and happy it may have come out during a drinking game. It would've been so long ago and so insignificant no one would've cared. Their affair would've been old, funny fodder. But it wasn't old now, and it certainly wasn't funny fodder.

"Steven." Jackie swallowed hard. "Steven's the father."

"Steven who?"

There were probably four Steven's in Point Place and two of those were married with kids, so Jackie found it amusing that her and Hyde 'doing it' was so far-fetched that Donna needed a last name.

"Steven Hyde, Donna. _Hyde._ Hyde is my baby's dad." Ignoring Donna's loud gasp, Jackie looked to the floor. Saying the words out loud had made them more real than before. Hyde was her child's father. Jackie's son or daughter would call _him_ dad. This wasn't the way her life was meant to go and she wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry.

Donna jumped to her feet, her hand flying over her mouth. Jackie was in for it, she could tell, so she decided now probably wasn't the time for laughing. Tears would get Donna more than laughter over her child's paternity.

"What the hell?!" Donna screamed. "You and _Hyde_?! Oh you have got to be kidding me!"

Jackie's brow creased as she looked at the door. "Ssssh, keep your voice down. I don't want Bob hearing about my sex life."

"Oh my god." Donna was pacing now, taking unusually large strides around her bedroom. " _I_ don't want to hear about your sex life, especially when it involves Hyde."

"So you probably don't wanna hear how hot and dirty it was then?" Jackie said sarcastically, annoyed that Donna was proving her worries warranted. People were going to be more concerned with who her baby's daddy was than the fact she was pregnant.

Stopping in her tracks, Donna stared down at her friend. "I _especially_ don't want to hear how hot and dirty it was," she stated firmly. "But what I do wanna know is, how the hell did this happen? You and Hyde hated each other. And he's Kelso's best friend for crying out loud, how could you two do that to Kelso?"

Jackie was swiftly overcome with anger. She had not betrayed Kelso, she was the betrayed as far as she was concerned. Quickly, she bounced off the bed and stood before Donna. "Listen here, I don't owe Michael Kelso anything. He cheated on me, numerous times, and he was the one who left me right after proposing. What I got up to while he was galavanting around California with you is nothing he doesn't deserve-"

"But you did his best friend, Jackie. That's kinda harsh."

Jackie shrugged. She did feel a little guilty about hooking up with Hyde, and she knew that if Kelso found out he'd be hurt, but it was worth it at the time. Hyde had made her feel wanted and special, two things she hadn't truly felt since she'd found out Kelso was nailing Laurie behind her back. And, to be honest, she had never in a million years thought he'd have to find out this way.

"It is what it is," she said with a clipped tone. "Anyway, Right now I'm more concerned about how I'm going to cope with Steven's child growing inside me...God, it's probably developing sunglasses and a beard as we speak!" She sat down on the bed again, overwhelmed by the reality she was faced with. The thought of telling Hyde she was pregnant scared her to death, but the thought of telling Kelso scared her even more. He would never want her back now. Their fairy tale romance was well and truly over.

"Okay, putting Kelso aside for a minute, I still don't get how you and Hyde hooked up. I mean, it's so creepy, and unnatural. Like, who made the first move?" Donna asked.

"Steven of course."

Once again Donna looked perplexed. "Hyde? Really? He spent months avoiding your advances when you had that crazy crush on him and now we're expected to believe he's done a full 360 and gone n got you pregnant? This shit is surreal."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "I can't help it if I'm irresistible, Donna. Out of the blue one day he called me up and asked me to come listen to a new album he had. Next thing I knew he had me in his arms and was asking to kiss me. It really was rather romantic."

"Hold up - Hyde _called_ you? As in, called you on the phone? I don't believe it," Donna questioned.

"Well believe it."

So maybe none of what Jackie had just said was true but if she was having a child out of wedlock she was going to make damn sure the story of the child's conception was romantic. Now would've been the perfect time for war to break out and for Hyde to get drafted, then she would have an even better story; lovers ripped apart by war, the child the only reminder of the love they shared.

Two friends hooking up because they were bored just didn't have the same romantic element.

Donna shook her head and smirked. "Jackie, come on, Hyde doesn't call anyone unless it's for them to bail him out. He didn't call you and invite you over."

"Okay, he posted me the invite."

"Even less believable."

Now Jackie was even more irritated. Holding a defiant hand up she said, "Enough with the third degree, Donna. It doesn't matter how Steven and I got together, what matters is that I am now pregnant and about to lose my position as most popular girl in school. So what are we gonna do about it?"

Donna took Jackie's hand and pulled her up. To Jackie's surprise Donna wrapped her arms around her and held her tightly. The hug was comforting, so comforting that Jackie didn't even mind the lumderjack's heavy arms pressing against the curls in her hair that had taken her an hour to perfect that morning. Someone cared about what she was going through. Someone who wasn't being paid to care.

After a few minutes Donna pulled away but placed her hands on Jackie's shoulders. "I'll tell you what _you're_ gonna do," she said softly. "You're gonna go next door and tell Hyde he's gonna be a dad-"

Jackie's stomach suddenly cramped. "No, Donna! That's so not how I wanted to spend my morning!"

Donna ignored her protests. "You're gonna tell him because for one, he has a right to know, and two, you shouldn't be going through this alone. Both of you got yourselves into this mess so you need to work together to fix it. Now once you've done that, we'll start sorting everything else out, okay?"

Jackie nodded as Donna led her out of the bedroom. "Donna?" she said quietly as they walked down the hallway.

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared..."


	2. Chapter 2

Much to Jackie's annoyance Donna ditched her in the middle of the Forman's driveway, her parting gesture a quiet 'goodbye' and a pat on the back. Jackie had frozen when her friend had bolted, the voices of teenage boys filtering out of the kitchen preventing her from moving any further. This is why she hadn't been to this house in two weeks; it was all too awkward. Even before she knew she was pregnant she'd found herself becoming increasingly more uncomfortable in what had always been the most comfortable, albeit basic, house she'd ever frequented. Kelso's crude comments about satisfying any physical needs she may have, accompanied by Hyde barely even looking at her, had made visits to the basement unpleasant.

And this visit would probably be the most unpleasant of them all.

Fez was the first to notice her from his seat at the kitchen counter.

"Jackie!" he called out, "why are you just standing there? Are you lost?"

In an instant Kelso's head was peering out of the open sliding door.

"Hey, Jackie." His smile was as gorgeous as ever and his whole face lit up as his eyes trailed her from head to toe. It was moments like these that made Jackie cling to the 'Jackie Kelso' fantasy...the one where he was a doctor and she was his devoted wife organising children's charities in their name. But that fantasy was always ruined by him nailing blonde skanks or hightailing it to California with her best friend. She narrowed her eyes at the memory as he asked her, "So are you coming in or should we just admire you from here?"

Despite her heart pounding in her chest, Jackie tilted her chin high in the air and purposefully walked inside.

"Morning, boys," she greeted them before noticing that the usually immaculate Forman kitchen looked like a scene from a frat house movie. There were eggshells, bacon, cereal, and juice all over the place, evidence that the lady of the house was not home and that four teenage boys had attempted to feed themselves. "I'm guessing Mrs. Forman is at work?" she asked, slightly nauseas at the sight.

"Early shift," mumbled Eric from his seat at the table. "She could've woken us with breakfast before she left."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Awww, poor mommy's boy had to fend for himself for once," she chided.

"Says the girl with a hundred servants," Eric shot back. "Why are you here anyway Jackie? The place has been Jackie-free for two weeks, don't tell me I have to call the exterminators in again?"

Before Jackie could shoot back Kelso stood up and puffed out his chest. "She's here for me, Eric. Ain't that right, Jackie? You've finally come to your senses and decided to put all that California business in the past so that we can move forward...toward the bedroom."

He winked at her and Jackie glared at him before noticing the eggs he'd just piled onto his plate. Usually she would remind him about his egg allergy but for his crude comment she decided to let him spend the morning at the hospital.

"Whatever, Michael," she said, "just sit down and eat your eggs. You'll be needing your strength for later."

Smiling, Kelso sat down and started spooning forkfuls of egg into his mouth. _Moron,_ Jackie thought. How did she think he was going to become a brilliant surgeon saving people's lives when he couldn't even remember to stay away from eggs? Shaking her head Jackie glanced over at Hyde who was frying bacon on the stove. He hadn't looked at her once since she'd walked in so she strolled over to him to force some sort of interaction.

"Hi, Steven," she said quietly as the others talked nonsense to each other.

Hyde didn't look up but mumbled a "Hey, Jackie," before scooping up some bacon and calling out, "Who wants this piece?"

"Me!" shouted Fez, scuttling over to Hyde. "I am always the last one to get fed. Just because I am foreign it doesn't mean I should have to wait for the leftovers."

Jackie's mouth opened to say something back to Fez but she decided against it. She wasn't here to remind Fez about the natural pecking order, or to remind Kelso he was allergic to eggs for that matter. She was here to talk to Hyde about an egg of her own that he had fertilized.

"Just go sit down, Fez," she ordered. "I need to speak to Steven."

Hyde looked at her confused. Aside from the odd 'hi' or 'bye' or 'this programme sucks', the last real conversation Jackie had had with Hyde had been when they were naked in her bed. An hour after that conversation Donna and Kelso had returned and unknowingly brought with them an icy chill that had set over Jackie and Hyde's hot summer fling and frozen it solid. Jackie knew that as far as Hyde was concerned they had nothing to discuss.

Turning a piece of bacon in the pan, Hyde said, "Ah, no you don't."

Jackie glared back at him. "Yes I do."

"What-" Eric started as he turned around and pointed his fork back and forth between Hyde and Jackie, "- could you two possibly have to talk about?"

Thinking on her feet Jackie replied, "Steven asked me to take at look at his car the other day, I have to show him what needs doing on it."

"Man, Hyde, you got a girl to look at your car?" Kelso was laughing now which made Jackie smile. He wouldn't be laughing in approximately ten minutes when his face swelled to three times it's normal size. "If you get a girl to fix your car it means you got a girl car."

Yeah, Kelso was never going to be a doctor.

Hyde scowled at Jackie and opened his mouth to yell something at Kelso but before he could Jackie flicked off the stove and pulled him through the kitchen door. As she dragged him down the driveway toward the Camino, Hyde pulled away.

"What the hell, Jackie?! What the fuck is wrong with you?" he growled, stopping at the front of the house. "Stop pulling me."

Jackie turned around and tried to grab his hand to lead him to his car. "Can we just go to your car?" she asked. "They'll hear us here."

Through his shades Jackie could see Hyde's eyes narrow. "No, we have nothing to say to each other, so I'm gonna go back inside and finish my breakfast." He began making his way back up the driveway and for a second Jackie considered letting him go. But Donna was right, she didn't have to go through this alone. If her life was going to crap, then so was Hyde's. She pulled on the hem of his t-shirt, stopping him from walking any further.

"Steven, I said I have to talk to you, so will you please just come with me?"

Hyde was mad now and pushed her hand off his t-shirt. "Like I said, we have nothing to say to each other, so run along and draw some pictures of unicorns or whatever it is you do in your spare time."

As he turned to walk up the driveway Jackie bit down on her lip, and again contemplated just letting him go. Steven Hyde had always been difficult, he was never one that made things easy. One time in the Hub when he was on his way to the counter Jackie had asked him nicely to grab a coke for her. As she went to hand him the money he had laughed before telling her to get it herself. He didn't do things because others asked him to, he only did things he wanted to do and right now talking to her wasn't one of them.

But she had to talk to him.

"Steven I'm pregnant," she blurted out, her voice soft, cautious of prying eyes and ears.

Her words stopped him in his tracks and he stood still. Jackie noticed his hands clench at his sides and the seconds before he turned around felt like hours. With his jaw clenched Hyde strode toward her, grabbing her by the wrist before pulling her to the curb where the Camino was parked. Jackie's heart was racing as she was dragged behind him and she suddenly wished she'd let him walk away only a few moments earlier.

He dropped her wrist, leaving her at the edge of the sidewalk, while he walked to the front of his car and popped the hood. Jackie glanced up and down the street, thankful that on this sunny Saturday morning all the boring Point Place residents were holed up in their homes therefore unable to witness the screaming match that was surely about to unfold. Airing dirty laundry was not something Jackie liked to do in public, well, not if it was her dirty laundry that needed airing anyway.

Once the hood was popped Hyde ordered her to stand next to him and she reluctantly obliged. If he was going to yell hopefully the big black sheet of steel would block some of the words from filtering too far.

"Are you're sure?" Hyde said quietly, unscrewing the lid off the coolant.

"I'm pretty sure."

Hyde didn't look at her, choosing to remain in character and pretend to poke around in his car for nobody's benefit at all. "Well what did the doctor say?" he asked.

"I haven't been to a doc-"

Hyde's face shot up, as did the the corner of his mouth. "You haven't been to the doctor? Jackie, you're probably just late, happens to chicks all the time," he informed her enthusiastically. Gosh, who knew Steven Hyde knew so much about women's monthly cycles?

Jackie sighed. "Steven, I'm not late, I'm pregnant. You don't need to go to the doctor anymore for a pregnancy test, you can buy them at the drugstore. I've done 16 tests in 6 days and they all say the same thing. I'm pregnant."

Hyde's happy face quickly subsided and was replaced with one of annoyance, which annoyed Jackie to no end. Yes this affected him too. Yes he would no doubt face some serious consequences. But in her mind none of them even compared to what she was about to go through. Never mind Kelso's face, her body would soon be at three times it's normal size.

Hyde returned his attention to the radiator, while Jackie leaned back against the car.

"Are you sure it's mine?" he asked, his tone soft and non accusing.

Jackie nodded as she stared down the street. She felt guilty for even thinking it but right now she wished he wasn't the father. At least if she were carrying Michael's baby they would have a shot of having a normal relationship. Sure it would be hard and she'd no doubt have to lock him in the house to ensure his fidelity, but it'd still have been nice to be pregnant and have a boyfriend. Not just a boy who was kind of a friend.

"Yes, Steven, it's yours," she said. "I got my period the week after Michael went to California and I haven't had it since." Suddenly her brow furrowed and she nudged his shoulder with her elbow causing him to stand up and get his head out of the engine. "You know you're the only boy I was with this summer right? I'm not a slut. In fact, you're the only boy I've been with other than Mich-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, Jackie." To Jackie's surprise Hyde removed his shades and hooked them into the collar of his t-shirt. His eyes were trained on the ground before he looked up at her. It was amazing; he had only known about the pregnancy for around four minutes but already he looked like he had the weight of the world on him. Or perhaps he'd always looked like that but she'd just never noticed? "Look, I had to ask, okay? I wasn't implying that you're a slut or anything coz I know you're not."

"Good," Jackie clipped, sharply turning her face from his. It came as a small relief that Hyde didn't question her character, although she had been fairly certain that he wouldn't. However, convincing other people in their small hometown that she was a girl with morals and standards may prove to be more difficult. For now though, the fact her baby's father wasn't demanding paternity tests was comforting.

"So," she said, tucking her brunette curls behind her ear. "Where to from here?"

Hyde folded his arms across his chest and turned around, leaning back on the car next to her. "You tell me," he shrugged. "Never been in this situation before-"

"Something I find quite surprising," Jackie interrupted with a smile. "With your track record n all."

Hyde raised an eyebrow and a small grin that lasted only seconds appeared on his face. "Like I was saying," he continued. "I dunno what we do now. Like, does this mean we gotta get married?"

Married? While the thought of being a single mother had caused Jackie to endure a week of sleep deprivation, the thought of being Mrs. Jackie Hyde seemed even worse. Sewing red 'A's on all of her clothes was far more appealing than walking down the aisle toward a man in tatty jeans and a concert tee; no matter how hot he was.

"While that proposal was nothing short of magnificent I think I will have to decline. Sorry, Steven." She was sure that over the sound of her own thumping heartbeat she heard Hyde breathe a sigh of relief. "I'm sure we have more pressing issues to deal with right now than planning a teen wedding between friends...or enemies...or whatever we are..."

Were they friends, Jackie wondered as she waited for Hyde to say something. For many years she had absolutely despised the guy and his nasty tongue and dirty clothes. It was as if he had been put on the earth with the sole purpose of ridiculing Jackie and making her life miserable. Never a kind word, never a genuine smile. He had mocked her pretty dresses when she was 10. Pulled her hair when she was 12. Hidden her lunch money when she was 14. Torn her relationship with Kelso to pieces when she was 16. But when she was 17 he had given her one of the best summers of her life.

And she still didn't know if they were even friends.

"We're friends, Jackie," he said, elbowing her gently in the ribs.

She smiled. "Friends who are having a baby."

"So it appears."

The sound of the Vista Cruiser coming down the driveway filled the silence and by the time the car pulled up next to the Camino Hyde's head was back under the hood. He didn't look at his friends, choosing instead to fiddle with every cap within reach.

"What's the verdict?" Eric asked, nodding toward the black car. Hyde said nothing, seemingly unable to face the boys right now.

Jackie came to the rescue. "The radiator," she said. "it's shot to hell."

Eric nodded sympathetically, clearly understanding the pain one felt when their car needed work.

"Explains the face," he said, pointing a finger at Hyde who by now was looking pale and worried as hell.

A pang of guilt swept over Jackie as she realised just how hard life was going to be for Hyde from now on. Forced to not only see his friends everyday but also be the cause of the breakdown of their group was going to be hard on him. Eric, Fez and Kelso were his family but unlike most families that forgive and forget, there were no guarantees that him getting Jackie pregnant would be forgiven.

Jackie patted Hyde on the back and felt him flinch under her touch. "Yeah, well, I've been explaining to Steven that it's not the end of the world. It can be fixed and the car still goes right now so there's no need to worry about it just yet." She prayed he got her message that no one needed to know their secret just yet therefore they needed to go on as normal.

"Yeah, man, forget about it today," Eric said just as Kelso sat up in the back seat, his face already swelling. "Come with us to the hospital, it's shot time for our boy." The grins on Eric and Fez's faces were priceless and Jackie was just a little bit proud of herself for bringing such joy to the boys today. Okay, maybe she didn't bring joy to _all_ of them, but two out of four was pretty good.

Fez poked his head around Eric and held out his hand which was filled with coins. "Yes come, Hyde. I have plenty of money for the candy machines. Candy, nurses, Kelso getting needles in the ass...what more could we ask for today?"

"I'll tell you what we could've asked for today," Kelso chirped from the backseat. "We could've asked for our ex-girlfriend to remind us not to eat eggs when we're allergic to them!" He glared at Jackie, well as much as he could glare considering his eyes were almost swollen shut. "Jackie you know it's your job to watch what I eat. Now I gotta spend all morning at the hospital and I didn't wanna do that today!"

Jackie shrugged and pursed her lips. "Whatever, Michael. You're 18 years old, if you can't remember by now what you are and aren't allergic to then that's your problem." As Kelso slumped down in his seat Jackie turned to Hyde. "Steven you should go with them, there's not much we can do about the radiator today," she said quietly. "Just give me a call when you want it sorted."

Hyde ran a hand down his face before putting his sunglasses on. He still hadn't looked at his friends, or at her, and his anxiousness was now making her nervous. It was like he was ready to either explode or withdraw completely and she didn't want either of those things happening just yet. Now was not the time for everyone to find out so Hyde blurting it out in anger was just not an option. But she also needed him as a partner in all of this, so him shutting himself off from everyone or taking off wouldn't help either. He needed to keep it together. For her. For them.

As if sensing her worry he let down the hood of the Camino and turned his back on the boys, staring straight at her. "You gonna be okay?" he said quietly.

Jackie nodded.

"Look, I'll ah, I'll call you yeah?" Hyde wiped the palms of his hands down the front of his jeans as he spoke. Big, strong, carefree Hyde seemed to be crumbling before Jackie's eyes and she actually felt sorry for him. She had to remind herself that she was the one who was going to get fat. This was about her. Not him.

"Yeah, that'll be good. Have a good day at the hospital, and don't worry too much about that radiator."

As Hyde climbed in the front seat next to Fez Jackie gave a little wave to Kelso. It wasn't a "why couldn't you be the father to my child" wave, but more of a "you're an asshole for leaving me so you deserve a needle in your ass" kind of wave. He grumbled, and she smiled as she casually strolled down the street, swinging her bag as she walked. Telling Donna and Hyde had definitely made her feel better, a bit lighter.

It wasn't all on her anymore. She wasn't alone.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews, faves and follows! I'm pleased you liked the first chapter and hope you enjoyed this one too...if you have a spare moment please drop a review and let me know what you thought._**

 ** _From now on I'll post twice a week, that way I'll stay ahead with my writing which should mean you never have to wait too long for me to post. I posted this one early as a way of thanking you for your support and also so you got a bit of Hyde nice n early. I know he seems pretty calm at the moment but next chapter is all him and you'll get to see what's really going on in his head as well as a flashback to their summer. Keep a look out Thursday for that one._**

 ** _Thanks again!_**


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Sorry this is late! I had a crazy busy day yesterday and didn't get a chance to get on the computer and update. Thanks again for the reviews...I'm pleased you're enjoying the story so far. Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.**_

* * *

Hyde kicked his boots off and fell down on his cot. His head hurt, in fact it was pounding and the pain was part of the reason he'd walked home from the hospital instead of sticking around to watch Kelso scream in agony. No amount of friend humiliation, wheelchair fun, or hot nurses could've kept him in that hospital. He had to get out of there.

At home, in his dark room, on his small cot, was the only place he wanted to be. He reached for his old tin under the cot and opened it, the smell of dope hitting his nostrils instantly. He'd paid extra for this stuff after being told it was strong and skunky and by the smell of it he'd been wise to shell out more. Hopefully this would get rid of the pulsing pain in his head, and maybe even the endless stream of thoughts running through his mind.

He was an idiot. A concert-tee-wearing, frizzy-haired, skirt-chasing idiot, and now he was going to pay the price for his idiocy. Red was gonna kill him. Kill him then kick him out. Kelso was gonna hate him. Actually, his tall friend would probably more than hate him, if that was even possible. Kitty would be disappointed in him. As would Eric.

Hate. Disappointment. Homelessness. As Hyde rolled his joint he was undecided about which one was worse. He'd been hated before, many times. He'd also been homeless. And he was fairly sure numerous teachers had been disappointed in him in the past, especially those ones that thought he had potential. But none of those people or situations had mattered. He could shrug those off. But having those closest to him be pissed off because of his actions was gonna hit him hard.

And there was not a thing he could do about it. It was out of his hands. And all inside Jackie's belly.

He could've done something twelve weeks ago. He could've, and should've, ignored that damn purple shirt and the girl who wore it so freaking well.

* * *

...

 _Three Months Earlier_

 _Hyde sat on his chair in the basement trying to block out the incessant chatter going on around him. He'd only been home from the Fotohut for twenty minutes and already he wished he'd found somewhere else to go. Hanging in a hot basement with Fez and Jackie was not his idea of Friday night fun but with Eric blubbering like a baby in his room all day and night, and Kelso in California, Hyde's social options were limited. He was stuck with these two morons. At least one of them was easy on the eye, something Hyde had been unable to ignore over the last couple of weeks. Jackie had really come into her own recently, filled out in all the right places, so to speak. Especially in the purple shirt she was currently wearing which pulled fairly tightly over her more developed chest._

 _"The first paragraph is mostly about what a wonderful girlfriend I was and how lucky he was I took his cheating ass back." For the last twenty minutes Jackie had been rambling about a letter she was writing to Kelso. Some sort of break-up letter that Hyde was fairly sure Kelso would never bother reading. Listening to her whiney voice was irritating as hell so between watching I Dream of Jeannie Hyde did his best to focus not on the small brunettes words but on the way her chest moved as she talked._

 _Fez seemed focused on both her chest and her words. "Yes, Jackie, Kelso was very lucky you took him back. If I were your boyfriend I would never have cheated on y-"_

 _Fez's lame attempts at seduction went unnoticed by Jackie who kept on with her task at hand. Explaining every fucking paragraph of her stupid letter._

 _"The second paragraph," she explained, "goes into more detail about what a great girlfriend I was. I back that up with examples, like the time I helped him remove one of Eric's stupid miniature dolls from his nose-" Hyde crinkled his own nose, wondering if Eric knew his action figures had Kelso boogers all over them, "-and the time I gave him twenty dollars to buy me a birthday present."_

 _"You were such a kind girlfriend," Fez said, nodding his head in a sympathetic manner while also snaking his arm around Jackie's shoulder._

 _Hyde chuckled to himself. Poor Fez didn't have a shot in hell with Jackie and to be quite honest he didn't understand why anyone would want a shot with her anyway. She was shallow, immature, needy...the top three things to avoid when looking for a girlfriend, or even a casual hook-up. Yeah, she was annoying alright. But still, the way that shirt clung to her tight little frame was sending feelings other than disgust through Hyde's body._

 _And when she lifted her fluffy ended pen to her pink, glossy lips Hyde could no longer deny it. Jackie was hot._

 _When the fuck did she get hot?_

 _"Yeah, I really was a great girlfriend, Fez," Jackie said, twirling the fluffy crap across her lips, while one leg swung over her other. It was then Hyde decided to watch a live brunette instead of a blonde television character. Turning toward her, just a fraction so it wasn't obvious, he tried to listen to her ramblings. "And Michael needs to be reminded of that so that when my letter gets to the bits about what an asshole he is he really feels the pain. It's like putting him in a happy place - that happy place being me - before ripping him out of it and showing him he is no longer in that happy place because he is a fool that chose random beach trash over a loving, kind, extremely beautiful, fiancée."_

 _Hyde didn't hear of word of what she just said but he did notice how full her lips were. He'd never noticed that before._

 _"So what's paragraph three about?" Fez asked. "Is that when you tell him he is a no good sonofabitch?!"_

 _Jackie laughed. "No, silly! That doesn't start 'til paragraph 14. Paragraphs 3-7 are about dividing our assets. You know, the stuff we share custody of or own together."_

 _Okay, Hyde could not ignore that. What the hell did those two morons own together? He knew the answer would be all kinds of ridiculous but he had to ask. "Jackie, you and Kelso are teenagers, and let me remind you Kelso can barely scrape together a dollar for a soda. What, pray tell, do you two own together or share custody of?"_

 _Jackie swung around to look at him and before she spoke, wet her lips a little with her tongue. Hyde sat up straight, trying to shake the awkward attraction he was suddenly feeling toward someone so annoying._

 _"Well, Hyde, there are a number of things," she began, "there's the stuffed gorilla he won for me at the fair last year-"_

 _"The one that sits on his bed?" Fez asked, standing to get himself a popsicle. "Kelso said that's his."_

 _With a scowl Jackie replied, "No, it's mine. I gave him the 50c to play the stupid shooting duck game and he said if he won I'd get the prize, so it's mine. He was allowed it during the week but I have it on the weekends."_

 _"Seriously, Jackie? A black gorilla toy? Why would you even want that, it's not even pink," Hyde said folding his arms._

 _"I want it because my boyfriend won it for me, it means a lot to me."_

 _Fez plonked down beside her and opened his popsicle. "But, Jackie, he's not your boyfriend anymore."_

 _At this not-so-new revelation Jackie threw herself back on the couch, her notepad falling to the floor. "Thanks for reminding me, Fez," she said in her usual dramatic manner._

 _Her dramatics irked Hyde, they always had. But during this performance he found he couldn't turn away from them. Her shirt had come untucked and he could see about an inch of her flat, toned stomach just above her jeans. He bet her skin was soft. He internally kicked himself for not copping a feel when he had the chance on Veterans Day. A kiss was all he got that night, a kiss that at the time felt too platonic to go any further. What he was wondering now though, was whether kissing her would still feel like that?_

 _Hyde's eyes darted up from her stomach when Jackie continued her woman scorned routine. "How could he do this to me right after proposing?" she wailed. "Now I'm all alone and it's summer time and my best friend is gone and I have no one and-"_

 _"You have us, my princess," Fez offered sweetly._

 _With that Jackie sat up, pushing her shirt back into her jeans. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and picked up her fallen notepad, in an attempt to regain composure. "Thanks, Fez," she said with a small smile. "But you and Steven don't count. You're too pervy to go anywhere with -" now it was Fez's turn to fall back on the couch in defeat, "-and Steven doesn't listen to a word I say."_

 _Hyde leaned forward, resting his elbows on his thighs, a wicked grin on his face. "Jackie, you keep comin' round here talkin' about assets n wearing that top," he said with a sly wink, "I promise you I'll do more than listen."_

 _Jackie's mouth fell open as Hyde stood up and walked to his room, the whole time feeling her eyes on him. Yeah it'd been a bolshy comment and one that she wouldn't have expected from him. But she was grown now, and hot, she had to get used to smarmy comments just like Donna had. He chuckled as he fell on his cot and lit a joint._

 _A summer spent watching Jackie might be fun after all._

 _..._

 _Three days later Hyde was chilling out on the couch watching the Price Is Right. Fez was down at the pool. The Formans were at work. Jackie had been MIA since his comment a few nights earlier so he figured she was off somewhere licking her wounds and cursing him to hell. He had the day off work and the house to himself...life was good. What more could a guy ask for?_

 _His best friend's kind of ex-girlfriend wearing a purple shirt was definitely not what he should be asking for. But that's what he got when a smiling, sweet-smelling, purple shirt wearing, brunette breezed into the basement and sat down next to him. Pulling one leg up onto the couch she turned and said, "Hi, Steven."_

 _"Hey," was all he could manage in response. What the hell was she doing here wearing that top again? He was fairly certain that he'd once overheard her giving Donna fashion rules and one of those rules was- clothes were never to be worn twice in any seven day period, except jeans, they were okay to be worn twice. Hyde remembered that specific rule because, like most rules, he broke it regularly and that made him happy._

 _Right now Jackie was breaking her own rule. And it pissed him off._

 _For the next ten minutes he tried to actively ignore her presence. He tried avoiding glancing at her lips every time she licked them or bit down on her bottom one. He tried to stop himself staring at her right hand as it glided up and down her calf muscle slowly. But it was useless. By the time she mumbled something about an old lady and he declared he could never watch the Price Is Right again his willpower was gone. When she turned her head to look at him he had to have her. Just once._

 _The kiss was sweet and slow. And nothing like their Veterans Day kiss. Well not for him anyway. When they pulled apart he waited for her to say something about no sparks but she didn't. To his relief seconds later she was practically on top of him devouring his mouth with her own._

 _And as much as he hated it, it was just about the best kiss of his life._

 _And to his disgust he wanted to do it over and over again._

 _And so he did, any chance he got._

 _Luckily Jackie, the naughty little minx, was a very willing participant. After that first day not a day went by without her sneaking into the basement or the Fotohut to steal a few moments with him. Hyde also felt pretty lucky because not only did he get to kiss her and feel her up, but he got to do it without having to talk to her. They barely said anything to each other than "over here" or "come down to the basement, it's empty", and that was a good thing, because Hyde wasn't one for talking. Especially to Jackie._

 _Talking would just complicate things and would eventually lead to talking about Kelso and Kelso was the last person Hyde wanted to think about, much less talk about. Out of sight out of mind; that was Hyde's summer mantra. Besides, all he and Jackie were doing was making out and that really wasn't a big deal. He'd been kissing girls since he was nine, kissing was nothing. It was as if there was an unspoken rule regarding their fling, kissing, touching, but no sex and that was fine with Hyde. Surprisingly. He got to taste Jackie's lips, touch her perfect body, feel her as she straddled him...that was enough for him._

* * *

Except that wasn't enough for him. Or Jackie. They had to go and ruin everything by having sex and now their big mistake was going to ruin both of their lives.

Hyde dragged on his joint and closed his eyes. What the fuck had he done? He could see no way out of this mess. Everyone was gonna be hurt, but no one more so than Kelso.

His oldest friend.

In his head Hyde had justified hooking up with Jackie by telling himself Kelso was a crappy boyfriend. Actually, he wasn't the only one banging on about what a dick Kelso was to his girlfriend, Jackie had harped on about it a trillion times over the years too. It was common knowledge that as a boyfriend Kelso well and truly sucked. But he didn't deserve this, because Hyde knew that deep down Kelso loved Jackie, and probably always would. It wasn't the same kind of love that Eric felt for Donna - it was more of a twisted, fucked up Kelso kind of love - but it was still love.

Hyde was also fairly sure Jackie still loved Kelso, even after all the crap the moron had put her through. Hyde could tell by the way she stared at the big buffoon, or the way she tilted her head when he said something stupid. She cared about him. Which is why Hyde should've left her alone over the summer. He'd already been the third corner of a love triangle and those pointy things never worked in his favour. Jackie would never have chosen him over Kelso, just like Donna refused to chose him over Eric.

But now Jackie was stuck with him as the father of her kid. And he was gonna be stuck with her moaning about it for the rest of his life.

No home. No friends. No family.

Just Jackie.

Who would've fucking predicted that shit?

...

It was late Sunday night and Hyde was fairly proud of himself. He had done a tremendous job of avoiding all contact with people over the weekend but had still managed to be fed and watered. Dear old Kitty was a sucker for the man flu, especially when it was Hyde claiming to have it, so he was able to lie in bed all day and pretend to be asleep when she made her food deliveries. It was awesome, and something he could get used to. But he was having a kid therefore he knew that sometime in the next few months he would probably have to get out of bed.

He'd thought of calling Jackie a couple of times over the weekend but really what was there to talk about just yet? Her stomach was still flat so they didn't have to worry about choosing names. She could still reach her toes so she probably didn't need him running errands for her. No, calling her was pointless. Right now they both just needed to enjoy the calm before the storm. Separately. Him from the safety of his cot.

Needless to say he was startled when the storm found him early and came in the form of a 95 pound brunette with pink toenails bursting into his room.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jackie growled as she kicked the door closed behind her.

Confused, Hyde sat up in his bed and turned the stereo down. "Um, I was trying to sleep until you barged in here. Heard of knocking, Jackie?"

"Have you heard of calling, Steven?" she asked, tossing her handbag on the chair in the corner. "Actually, don't answer that - I will. Um, yes you've heard of calling and I know that because you told me you would but then you didn't. Instead you've been lazing about in your bed all weekend!"

Holy crap. She hadn't even had the baby yet and she was already acting like a crazy person. It went against everything Hyde stood for but he decided to try and explain himself...not that he thought he owed her an explanation.

"I was gonna call you but I figured there wasn't anything that we urgently needed to talk about. I figured I'd see you at school tomorrow."

Jackie's eyes widened. "Nothing to talk about? Are you serious? We have a tonne of stuff that needs to be talked about, and what do you mean 'you'd see me at school'? We can't be talking about this at school, Steven! What if somebody heard us? I have a good four months before I get fat and I'm making the most of them, which means no one at school is to find out about the baby. You'd know all this if you'd called me."

Hyde sighed and swung his legs over the side of the cot. "Look, Jackie, I just needed some time, okay?"

"Time?" Jackie said through gritted teeth. "Time is what we're running out of. How much longer do you think my stomach is gonna be this flat for, huh? You should be supporting me not hiding out in your dingy bedroom."

"Supportin' you? I can't change how fat you're gonna get, man...that's all on you n the kid."

"Oh my god, you're such an asshole," Jackie said, tilting her head to one side and folding her arms across her chest. "I thought you were gonna be there for me, you were so calm the other day."

"Jackie, I got a whole lotta shit goin' on in my head right now n I just needed some space. I said I'm-"

"You've got shit going on? Really? Wow, poor you. Must be hard having so much going on...I wouldn't know, my life's perfect right now you see." Jackie tossed her hair over her shoulder and flopped down at the end of the cot, as far away from Hyde as she could get. "God, I hate you," she said under her breath.

"Pity you weren't sayin' that three months ago," Hyde mumbled, reaching under his bed for his tin.

"Oh believe me, I was."

Hyde chuckled as he rolled a joint. 'I hate you' was the last thing she was saying when he was banging the crap out of her on this very cot during the summer. He remembered a few 'god you feel so good's, and, 'fuck me, Steven's, and a whole lot of 'I want you, Steven's, but definitely no 'I hate you's.

"Whatever," he muttered, licking the end of the paper and reaching for his lighter.

As he lit the joint Jackie shot up on the bed, ripping his one form of sanity from his fingertips.

"You aren't seriously gonna smoke that in front of me are you? I'm pregnant!" she growled, leaning over him and stubbing it out in the ashtray. With her body pressed across his legs Hyde could smell the scent of the strawberry shampoo she always used and it took him back to summer. Their summer.

God he loved that smell.

"Sorry, forgot," he said as a swift kick to the shin brought him back to autumn.

"That was quick," Jackie said, settling herself back on the cot. "You've only known I have your spawn growing inside me for two days and you've already forgotten. The benefits of drug ravaged brain I guess."

Hyde ran an exhausted hand through his hair. This was gonna be a long six months.

"Look, Jackie." He turned to her and tried to ignore the evil eye that seemed to pierce his skin. "Shit is gonna get crazy round here. Once everyone founds out you're pregnant everything is gonna change and right now I'm tryin' to get my head 'round it all. I'm sorry I didn't call...if you tell me when I'm expected to call I'll make sure I do."

Jackie blinked so slowly that Hyde thought she'd nodded off. It was when both her eyebrows arched that he realised she hadn't.

"Gosh, I am so sorry that I expected you to call me when you were so busy getting your head around the fact I have a baby inside me. ME, Steven! This is happening to ME and all you can think about is YOU! The changes will be happening to _me_ , not you."

"I'm pretty sure when Red kicks me out you'll still be sleepin' sweet at night," Hyde said, not even trying to hide how pissed off he now was. Fuck her, and her strawberry shampoo.

"Steven, I am about to lose the one thing I hold dear to my heart. The one thing that gets me up each morning-"

Hyde looked at the door and envisioned her walking right out of it. "If you say Michael I'm gonna hurl," he mumbled, still staring at the grainy wood that separated him from freedom.

Jackie slapped his arm. "No!" she yelled. "Not Michael! My reputation, Steven, I'm going to lose everything I've worked for over the last few years. I'll be a fallen woman."

Hyde responded with a roll of his eyes. _That's_ all she was worried about? Her reputation? Jackie was the type of chick who could walk into any situation and talk herself into some type of friendship. Hyde on the other hand, had made his friendships when he was kid and had planned on keeping them for life. Thanks to Jackie's damn purple shirt though he was about to lose those friendships. Jackie's reputation would be in tatters for all of three minutes before she somehow redeemed herself and shifted gossip in the direction of some other poor soul.

Hyde's friends weren't gonna forgive him that quick.

"Jackie, people will get over it. The talk will last a day then you'll be yesterday's news," Hyde said, rubbing his beard.

Jackie looked at him in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Do you even know who I am-"

"Unfortunately I do."

"I am Jackie Burkhart...the girl who made the varsity squad freshman year. The girl who got on the prom committee when she wasn't even old enough to go to prom. The girl who has a perfect high school transcript. The girl-"

Hyde shot her an annoyed look and said, "The girl who needs to stop talkin' about herself in the third person."

"You just don't get it." He watched her chew on her bottom lip as her defiant stance finally dropped revealing a little girl scared to death of what lay ahead. "I was perfect, Steven," she whispered as her eyes filled with tears. "I was the perfect student, the perfect cheerleader...the perfect daughter. What am I gonna be now?"

Silence filled the small room and Hyde found himself feeling uncomfortable. Two minutes ago he would've done anything to shut her the hell up but now that she was sitting there sobbing and vulnerable he wished she would go back to loud and bolshy. She was a kid. A pregnant kid and all she had was him right now. That was a heavy burden to carry.

But one he couldn't ignore.

Wrapping an arm around her he pulled her close. He was surprised when her arms shot around his waist and her head nuzzled into the crook of his neck. it felt kinda nice to be needed by her. But knowing she'd need him for the next eighteen years also scared the shit out of him.

"I'll tell you what you're gonna be," he said, brushing a strand of hair off her face. "A perfect mother."

"Really?" she asked, her eyes wide and staring up at him.

"Of course. You said yourself you're perfect so how could you fuck being a parent up?" Hyde could think of a number of ways Jackie could fuck mothering up but he wasn't gonna tell her that. They had six months or so to sort their shit and Red and Kitty to help them do it. Surely with some Forman guidance they'd be okay eventually.

"I hope I'll be a good mom." Jackie sighed and her head fell back on Hyde's shoulder.

"So, when do we have to tell everyone?" Hyde felt sick even thinking about breaking the news to Kelso and the others but he had to know how much time he had up his sleeve.

"Well I'll be three months along in a couple of weeks...Rosa said that's when we should start telling people."

"So mid-October then?" Dammit, there goes Halloween with the boys.

"Yeah I guess. We should probably tell my parents and the Formans before then though don't you think?"

No, Hyde did not think.

"What's the rush? Only gonna upset them earlier than they need to be. Better to just keep it between me n you for now."

"And Rosa."

"And Rosa."

"And Donna."

Hyde's head jerked up. "Donna? Why'd ya tell Donna? She'll tell Forman!"

Jackie tightened her grip around Hyde's waist which was probably a good thing as he was already eyeing up his duffel bag and gasing up the Camino in his head.

"She's not saying anything to anyone, Steven. She knows the drama that's coming and she's as keen as we are to prolong the inevitable. Donna's lips are sealed, I promise."

Hyde relaxed a little, all the while praying that the redhead would keep to her word and keep her trap shut. The one thing worse than telling Kelso Jackie was pregnant was having him hear it from someone else. Hyde had to be the one to tell him. And in two weeks time he would.

He had two weeks left with his friends. Two weeks before everyone hated him.

And he was gonna make the most of it.

Man-flu time was over.


	4. Chapter 4

Hyde had successfully managed to wrangle two weeks into four and in all honesty Jackie didn't mind one little bit. At first she'd been eager for their friends to know about the pregnancy but as time had passed and the gang had found their rhythm again she had easily agreed to go along with Hyde's procrastination. Donna hadn't been keen to hurry along the group's destruction either so had kept her mouth closed and her arms open. She had been a great support to Jackie and had even accompanied her to doctor's visits and the mall for new clothes.

New, larger clothes.

"God, Donna, I'm only 16 weeks along, why is this shirt so tight?" Jackie complained one Saturday afternoon. She was sitting with Donna on the couch in the basement flicking through a Cosmopolitan, lamenting the loss of her small hips.

"Maybe because you keep shoving Twinkies in your mouth," Donna answered with a sly grin and a raised eyebrow. The taller girl nodded toward the five empty Twinkie wrappers strewn across the wagon wheel. "Seriously, Jackie, you aren't literally eating for two. Your baby doesn't need eight Twinkies a day."

Jackie scowled and placed a hand over her tiny bump. "Oh shut-up, Donna! How would you know? Are you reading pregnancy books? No, I didn't think so. My baby needs nourishment so it doesn't come out all scrawny and sickly like Eric. Talk to me about not eating for two when you're pregnant."

With that she shoved the last of her Twinkie in her mouth and ignored the giggling redhead next to her. Sure Donna acted all grown up and mature but when it came to real life matters, such as pregnancy, as far as Jackie was concerned she had no idea. Jackie was a woman now and was no longer going to listen to the ramblings of a freakishly tall tomboy who had no clue what carrying a child was like. No. Less Donna, more Cosmo - that's what Jackie needed.

Except when she needed someone to accompany her to the doctors. Then she needed more Donna.

"Okay, no more about diet," Donna said, throwing her TeenBeat on the wagon wheel. "So, have you told your parents about Hyde Junior yet?"

Jackie rolled her eyes and continued to read about "Women Who Have It All & the Six Easy Steps to Becoming One".

"No I haven't," she mumbled. "As I said yesterday and the day before that and the day before that - when I tell them I'll be sure to let you know how it goes."

She could hear Donna tut-tutting next to her so she rolled up her magazine and swatted the giant's leg with it.

"Ouch!" Donna cried, rubbing her thigh. "Chill, Jackie! It was just a question!"

"A question you keep on asking!" Jackie growled. "My mom's only been back a few days and it's been nice spending time with her and daddy together. I'm trying to get some quality family time in before they find out what a disappointment I am."

Jackie had tried to tell them, a trillion times, but no moment had ever felt right. Since her mother's return from the sunny beaches of Fortaleza things had been happy in the Burkhart household. Her father was smiling again, her mother was taking an interest in Jackie's life, and Jackie was lapping up the attention. Yesterday her parents had even taken her shopping to buy her a beautiful silver bracelet for her exceptional grades in French class. There was no way she was ruining such bliss with news of their impending grandparenthood. That news could wait a little longer.

Donna's expression was one of empathy and she put a kind hand on Jackie's shoulder. "You won't be a disappointment, midget. Well - maybe for a little bit but they'll get over it. It's like ripping off a band-"

"Aid." Jackie finished for her. "Yeah, I know. I gave Steven the same speech about telling you guys an-"

A body tumbling over the back of the couch interrupted Jackie's train of thought and she quickly closed her mouth as Kelso squeezed himself between her and Donna.

"Telling us what?" he asked before winking at Jackie. Jackie cringed. Kelso's sexual pursuit of her had accelerated over the last couple of weeks and it was taking all she had not to just fall into his arms like she had so many times before. He was so familiar, so unburdened, so easy-going.

But he slept with skanks and ditched her and she couldn't forget that.

Or the fact she was carrying his best friend's baby.

"Telling you that you're a pig who'll roll in the mud with anything," she snarled, shrugging her right shoulder to try and shift his hand.

He counteracted her effort with a tight squeeze. "That may be true, but know this, babe, you are the one I most want to roll with." Grinning, Kelso pulled Jackie closer to him and the scent of his cologne invaded her senses. She had bought him the first bottle of what had become his signature woody scent and the fragrance still suited him. So she allowed herself a few moments wrapped in his arm, lapping up the familiarity.

"Ugh, Kelso," Donna growled. "You're so disgusting. Like Jackie would ever roll around with you again."

Jackie inhaled one more time before composing herself and pushing Kelso away. "Exactly," she said. "You are so far in my past I can barely see you in my rear vision mirror."

Now Kelso was confused. "What? When you were driving past me the other day? That day I was waving to you?"

Hyde sat down in his chair, watching the exchange with a grin. "Kelso, man, forget it. All they're sayin' is you're an asshole."

Kelso, as usual, was perplexed. "I didn't hear them call me that?"

Scenes like these ones were becoming more and more awkward for Jackie and she knew the fact their days exchanging jibes in the basement were numbered was playing heavily on Hyde's mind as well. As he turned his attention to the TV, Jackie reached into her bag for the snacks Rosa had packed for her earlier. Awkwardness made her queasy and she needed to settle her nerves. For the good of the baby of course.

Taking a delicate bite of another Twinkie, she settled back into the couch and tried to ignore Kelso's intense stare.

"Y'know what, Jackie?" he asked. "All I ever see you do lately is eat or run to the bathroom. What's up with that?"

Jackie held her snack in one hand while gently playing with the pleats of her skirt with the other. Scrambling for an answer her throat went dry and her heartbeat sped up. What the hell was she going to say?"

"You resorted to stalkin' her now, man?" Hyde commented, much to Jackie's relief.

"No, Hyde, I'm not stalking her." Kelso turned to Jackie and winked. "Unless she wants me to." When he opened his mouth again Jackie wanted to shove her half eaten Twinkie right in it, but she stopped herself and focused on the TV. "Alls I'm saying is that maybe our girl Jackie is one of those balsamics."

Jackie didn't even need to turn her head to see red hair flying. Donna's head had swung to look at Kelso so fast some of her long hair had got caught in his mouth.

"Balsamics?" she laughed. "Please tell me, Kelso, what the hell is a balsamic?"

Jackie bit on the insides of her cheeks to stop herself from laughing. They all knew what he meant, but it was so much funnier letting him explain it his way. Doctor Kelso? What the hell had she been thinking?

"Donna, you're a female, you should know," Kelso almost growled. "Its one of those chicks who thinks she's fat so eats like _everything_ in sight then gets all down about it and throws it all up. A balsamic."

A flying newspaper landed in Kelso's face. "It's bulimic ya moron and Jackie isn't one," Hyde said matter of fact-ly.

"Yeah," Donna agreed. "And it's not just overweight girls, any girl can become bulimic depending on her environment and the way she sees her-"

Kelso waved a bored hand in Donna's direction. "Yeah, Donna, whatever. Well if Jackie's not bulimic then what's up with her?"

"I'm right here, Michael," Jackie reminded him. "You could ask me."

Kelso turned to her. "What's up with you, Jackie?"

Before she could answer the basement door flew open and Eric and Fez stumbled in carrying beer and potato chips.

"So you finally asked Jackie why she's always eating and going to the bathroom?" the foreigner asked, setting the beer down before tossing Hyde a can. "Well?" Fez questioned Jackie as she narrowed her eyes at him. "Why do you do that, Jackie?"

Stupid Fez.

"Nothing's up with me." Her explanation would not suffice normal people but she hoped it'd be enough for half brained dimwits like Fez and Kelso. She suddenly felt relieved that she'd told Donna about the pregnancy weeks ago. She'd never get through a Donna interrogation without crumbling; after all, the sight of flannel did tend to make her to lose all normal brain function and falter.

Fez tossed more beers around the room and when Jackie caught one Hyde glared at her. Running a fingertip around the top of the cold can she discretely glared back at him. Surely he knew she wasn't stupid enough to drink while pregnant?

"You do know everybody is talking about you at school?" Fez said as he sat down in the lawn chair.

"God, it must be a slow news week if Jackie's talk of the school," Eric chimed in from his seat on the arm of the couch next to Donna.

"Well she runs out of class all the time and I heard some girls say in the locker ro-...I mean cafeteria, that they think she's eating then throwing it all up. Pressures of wanting to be head cheerleader apparently."

Geez, now Fez was even talking like she wasn't in the room. It was like being a ten year old at one of her parent's parties; everyone talking about her but never to her, like she was insignificant. Right now though she would've done anything to go back to those days. And those pretty dresses for that matter. It had to be better than shopping for fat clothes and hiding baby bumps from her closest friends.

"Yeah, I heard the same," Kelso said. "I heard she was even sneaking into the cafeteria and eating the leftover puddings when she was meant to be in class."

Eric laughed and Donna shook her head angrily. "Jackie is not stealing food nor is she throwing up to try and get head cheerleader. Can't you guys see this is ridiculous?"

Jackie caught Donna's eye and smiled. Thank god she had her on her side.

Fez took a sip of his beer before shaking his head. "But, Donna, I have seen her running into the Ladies with her hand over her mouth."

"Yeah, same here." Damn Michael, Jackie was liking him less and less.

"As a matter of fact, so have I." And liking Eric even less than Kelso.

Hyde finally took his eyes off the TV and stared at his friends. "Will you guys knock it off? Who gives a crap what Jackie gets up to?"

"I do."

"Me too."

"I don't." Typical asshole Eric.

Unable to take it anymore Jackie stood up and slammed her can on the wagon wheel. She'd had enough of this. The lies. The rumours. The whole thing. With trembling hands she walked over to the TV and stood in front of it. As her body promptly went into fight or flight mode she swallowed hard. She could run, and keep running until the $206.10 in her bank account ran out. Or she could stay and face the music with a pounding heart and sweaty palms.

She chose the latter. After all, $206.10 would only last a few days and she highly doubted Rosa would be willing to run cross country with a pregnant teen.

"You guys," she started, ignoring the look of panic sweeping across Hyde's face as he very slowly shook his head telling her to stop. "I'm not bulimic-"

With a look of worry Donna rushed up to her. "You don't have to do this yet," she quietly said as she took Jackie's hand in hers. "If you're not ready then don't do it, Jack-"

Jackie's eyes shifted from Donna's to the empty space on the wall by Hyde's bedroom. She was doing it. Now.

Whether Hyde or Donna liked it or not.

"I'm not bulimic. I'm pregnant."

A loud gasp shook the room and everyone turned to Kelso. His eyes were as wide as his mouth and he was frozen in his seat. Jackie stared at him for a moment, waiting for him to say something, before looking over at Eric whose hand had gone flying over his mouth. He was smiling...almost _laughing_...as he pointed his can at Kelso. Fez, on the other hand, wasn't laughing as he looked between Jackie and Kelso, disbelief etched across his face.

Hyde though, was silent and expressionless as everything unfolded around him.

Finally Kelso stood up. "You're _what_?"

"I'm pregnant, Michael." It was out now and Jackie couldn't go back. There was no relief though as she feared the imminent dropping of the worst bomb of the night.

"But I haven't touched you in _months_ , since before California."

Eric stood up and put a hand on Kelso's shoulder, clearly revelling in his friends supposed predicament. "Kelso, I'm not sure how much health class you took in once they stopped talking about _making_ babies, but the thing is, my friend, pregnancy in fact lasts for months, so even though you haven't been with Jac-"

Yeah, that was enough of Eric's sexual education speech.

Jackie gripped Donna's hand tightly and blurted, "It's not your baby, Michael."

For what felt like forever Kelso just stood there staring at Jackie. She couldn't be sure, but for a second she thought her ex-boyfriend looked relieved. But then a tremendous sadness seemed to wash over him and he fell back down on the couch. Kelso's sad brown eyes never left Jackie's as Eric shuffled over and sympathetically pat his shoulder, and Jackie was sure his stare would haunt her forever.

"Well." Fez broke the silence. "Whose is it?"

Donna glared at their short friend. "That really doesn't matter now," she said in a clipped tone. "What matters is that our friend is pregnant and needs our support."

"Like hell it doesn't matter!" Kelso all of a sudden yelled, his face reddened in flush of anger. "I wanna know who he is, Jackie, then I'm gonna kill him!"

Eric's fingers gripped Kelso's upper arms as he begged an irate Kelso to calm down, while Jackie chanced a glance in Hyde's direction. He was opening another beer, and by the looks of the empty cans at his feet, it was his sixth one. Asshole. While she was standing in front of their friends admitting her mistakes he was sitting there getting drunk, staring at the floor.

"Michael, who the father is doesn't really matter right this second," Jackie said as she lost the battle to swallow back her tears. She hadn't cried in weeks but now the floodgates were open and didn't look like they were stopping any time soon. "Maybe you need to let this sink in before you cope with anything else."

"So I must know him." Kelso ran his hands slowly through his hair as he tried to figure out who the culprit was. "Yeah, I bet he's that guy at school...the football player who was always gettin' handsy with you...I can't believe you'd do this to me, Jackie. We were in love..."

"Michael, I'm so sorry..." Jackie sobbed. "I didn't mean to hurt you, but you were in California. _You left me_ , how was that love?"

Kelso stood up again and pointed a finger at Jackie. "I was scared and you knew I'd come back eventually. You were supposed to wait for me like a good girlfriend would," he said through gritted teeth. Jackie had never seen him so angry, so hurt. Each word he spat at her cut her like a knife and the mere thought of him finding out the whole truth filled her with dread.

As the brunette's tears became uncontrollable Donna wrapped her arms around her .

"That's enough, Kelso," Donna growled. "Sit yourself back down and stop being such an asshole. Don't forget that I was with you in California and it wasn't as if you were pining after Jackie. She was free to do what she wanted."

"But-"

Jackie felt Donna's hand shoot up. She must've been pointing at Kelso now but from Jackie's spot with her head buried in Donna's shoulder she couldn't see. A finger pointing would work on Kelso though, she'd used that tactic many a time. Her pretty ex would soon be sitting down.

"I said sit down!" Donna yelled.

"Fine!" Kelso yelled back. "But she's not leaving until I know who did this to her."

"Kelso, maybe now's not the time," Eric said quietly. "Just talk to Jackie when you've both calmed down."

"Yeah, now's not the time, Kelso." Donna agreed with her boyfriend. "Everyone's in shock and upset. We can talk about it another day."

"Yes, I must say this has shocked me. I don't think I can even stomach my beer and cand-" Fez's words were abruptly cut off by the sound of Hyde's chair legs scraping across the concrete floor. Jackie's head shot up and swung around in time to see him put his beer down on the wheel and his hands rub the nape of his neck. As she moved to silence him he took a deep breath and she knew then it was too late.

It was all coming out tonight.

"Kelso, it's mine," Hyde said calmly.

Jackie's swollen eyes closed for a moment as she waited for Kelso to explode. When they opened she found herself staring at Fez, and the lone tear that was already falling down his cheek.

What had she and Steven done?

"Oh no..." Eric whispered, his head falling into his hands.

The truth hadn't been as quick to hit Kelso who looked at Hyde puzzled. "What's yours?" he asked.

Hyde took another deep breath and removed his sunglasses. "The kid, Kelso. Jackie's kid. It's mine."

In a matter of seconds a look of horror washed over Kelso as he took in the information. His best friend, his girlfriend. Jackie could see the tears welling in his eyes and she wanted to run far, far away.

"You?" Kelso choked out. "Nah, man, tell me you're kidding..." He smiled nervously as he waited for Hyde to tell him it was a cruel joke, and it broke Jackie's heart knowing he wasn't going to hear those words from Hyde.

"I really, really wish I could tell you I was kidding. But I can't." Hyde wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "I'm really sorry, man."

Hyde's tone was sincere and it was clear he meant what he was saying. He was sorry. Real sorry. But Jackie knew it wouldn't be enough for Kelso. A sincere apology from her and Hyde wasn't going to take away the fact that they were having a baby together. Heartfelt apologies were not going to repair the damage they'd done to Michael and the others.

Not anytime soon that's for sure.

"We both are-"Jackie started, but as soon as the words left her lips Kelso jumped off the couch and lunged at Hyde.

"You're dead!" he screamed as the two guys toppled to the ground.

The thud of two grown men landing on the concrete floor was only just audible above the rampant pounding of Jackie's heart. They were best friends, practically brothers, and now, because of her, they were like enemies slogging it out; one in a fit of rage, the other in an attempt to protect himself.

The smack of Kelso's fist on Hyde's cheek rung out in the room that had once held only happy memories for those present and it was enough for Donna to try and make the violence stop.

"Do something!" she yelled at Eric.

Jackie looked at Eric, her eyes pleading with him. He stared back at her for a moment before looking back at his friends struggling on the ground by the couch. Shaking his head, he slowly stood up and walked out of the room, with Fez scrambling behind him. They couldn't bear to watch what was unfolding and truth be told Jackie didn't blame them. If this wasn't all her fault she would've left as well.

Donna's face was one of shock as the door slammed closed. "Assholes!" she yelled before rushing over and pulling on Kelso's collar. "Kelso, that's enough! This isn't gonna fix anything!"

The rasp of fabric tearing could be heard as Kelso pulled himself out of Donna's grip. He was out for blood. Hyde's blood. And there was nothing the girls could do about it.

"Michael!" Jackie screamed, stepping closer to the ruckus. "Please stop! Please! I'm sorry...we're both sorry...please don't-"

Suddenly Hyde heaved Kelso up and threw him down on the couch, the taller man struggling under the weight of his body.

"Get outta here," Hyde panted, glancing at Jackie. "You'll get hurt."

Beads of sweat dripped down Hyde's forehead as he held Kelso down.

"I'm not leaving 'til you two stop," Jackie cried.

Donna pulled on Jackie's arm, trying to move her toward the door. "He's right, Jackie. You're pregnant, you shouldn't be here. Come on."

Jackie looked between Donna and the boys struggling on the couch. How could she leave when this was all her fault? Where was she supposed to go? Home? The Hub? Maybe watch some TV or eat some fries while Hyde and Kelso killed each other? She couldn't leave, not now, not like this.

Her lip quivered as she withdrew her arm from Donna's grip. "I'm not leaving," she said again.

"No point leavin' now huh, Jackie?" Kelso was lying awkwardly on the couch, his long arm outstretched, a hand desperately trying to keep Hyde at bay. Jackie wished he'd give up. Hyde wasn't trying to attack him, he was trying to calm him down. But all Kelso could see was a traitorous leach who'd fucked his girlfriend. "Might as well stick around n watch the whole show."

Hyde was sitting on Kelso, his arm muscles bulging as he fought to subdue his ex-friend. "Just give it up, man. Let's talk about this."

"Talk about what? You fucking my girlfriend or you n my girlfriend havin' a kid?" Kelso spat.

"Kelso, she wasn't your girlfriend...but I'm still sorry-"

Kelso's glare shifted direction towards Jackie, the look in his eye making her cold. "Not my girlfriend huh? Thank god...like I'd ever wanna be with a slut like her who gives it up to anyone -"

Kelso was still staring at Jackie so never saw Hyde's fist coming. When it connected with his eye he screamed, both hands instinctively flying to his face.

"My eye!" he shrieked as his body went limp enough for Hyde to finally stand up.

As if on auto pilot Jackie rushed to the couch to comfort the person who had only a few months ago been the love of her life.

"Michael! Let me see," she said, trying to pull his hands away. It pained her to see him hurt both emotionally and physically and she wanted to help him. Maybe her motives were selfish...and maybe they had more to do with making herself feel a little better about what had happened, but still, Michael needed her and she wanted to be there for him. If he'd let her.

As her hand stroked the hair out of his eye he flinched. "Don't fucking touch me, Jackie," Kelso ordered.

"But-"

"Just leave him," Donna said, as Kelso pushed himself off the couch and headed to the door, still holding his eye. "Let him calm down on his own."

"Yeah, listen to Donna." Kelso was dishevelled and exhausted as he opened the door. "Stay the fuck away from me," he said, the cool November breeze sweeping his hair. He looked at Jackie, then at Hyde who was standing behind the couch his face already swelling, his favourite Rolling Stones t-shirt ripped from the collar to his naval. "Both of you."

* * *

 _ **A/N: I apologise for this chapter...I'm really not happy with it. I thought it was done but then I kept re-reading and changing things and it's been doing my head in! I want it gone so I'm just going to post it now and hope you all get the gist of it and return for the next chapter.**_

 _ **Thank you again for the reviews! I love reading them and I think you're all really awesome for taking the time to let me know what you're thinking. Bless you!**_


	5. Chapter 5

Hyde took a long, deep breath and pressed his ear against the door. The wood was cold against his skin and when he exhaled his white breath reminded him that a brick stairwell at 6pm on a November evening was not where he wanted to be. It was nearly winter in Wisconsin, the warmth of summer was well and truly gone, but unfortunately for Hyde the ramifications of summer seemed here to stay.

The only sound filtering from the basement was that of the TV, a reassuring sign that the basement was void of real life people. It was tiring work avoiding people all day and Hyde just wanted a few minutes to chill out in his own home, out of the cold, away from gossiping mouths. The breakdown of the 'basement gang' as they were known at school, had become big news, even bigger than Jackie's bulimia. The whole damn school had noticed that Hyde sat on his own in class and disappeared alone at lunchtime. They also noticed the way Kelso, Fez and Eric avoided him in the hallways and turned their heads if he tried to approach. One thing everyone didn't know though was why the 'basement gang' had problems and that suited him and Jackie just fine. The drama at home with their friends was bad enough, they couldn't deal with drama at school as well.

Hyde waited a few more moments in the concrete stairwell, just to be sure his presence wouldn't fuel another showdown. Standing there cold, hungry and alone reminded him of winter nights spent waiting on his mother's porch for the right time to enter the house. Back then if he went in too soon Edna wouldn't be drunk enough to ignore his presence. If he went in too late, she'd be so drunk she'd want to talk. Therefore he always had to time it just right so he could slip on in, grab something from the fridge, and discretely proceed to his bedroom for the night. An ironic smile crept over his face as he realised just how little he'd actually progressed in life; he was still a nuisance, an unwanted guest. Only now it wasn't his mother annoyed by his mere existence. It was his best friend.

Eric didn't look up when Hyde walked in and the curly haired father-to-be wasn't at all surprised. This was how it was now. Hyde entered a room, Eric looked away. Hyde spoke to Eric, Eric ignored him. The few comments Eric had uttered at Hyde in the five days since the news had broken had all included the words, 'backstabber', 'traitor', and 'bro code', and Hyde didn't try to defend himself against any of them. He'd fucked up. He deserved what came his way from now on.

But it didn't stop him from trying.

"Howzit, Forman," he greeted Eric as he dropped into his usual chair.

Eric said nothing, his eyes locked on the television.

So Hyde tried again. "Cruiser still in the shop?"

Nothing.

"Should'a got a ride with me this mornin', it was freezin' out."

Finally Eric glanced over at Hyde. "I don't ride with tr-"

Hyde sighed. "Traitors. Yeah I know, you told me that this mornin' when your lips were turning blue n your pants were so wet it looked like you'd pissed yourself."

Eric scowled and looked back at the television.

Hyde leaned forward in his seat, his palms suddenly sweaty despite nearly being frozen popsicles a few minutes earlier.

"Look, Forman," he said, his tone softened. "I've said I'm sorry a hundred times. What's it gonna take, man? We live in the same freakin' house, we can't keep ignoring each other, your mom keeps askin' me what's up."

"Yeah I figured you hadn't told them about your unholy union yet...what with my mom still getting up each morning and my dad still being alive n all."

"About that," Hyde said, wiping his palms down his jeans, "thanks for not sayin' anything to your parents..."

"I didn't do it for you," Eric remarked. "I did it for me. I have enough to deal with right now - do you even know how much pudding I've had to wipe off Kelso's face in the last five days? My parents finding out about you havin' a kid is gonna make my life even more miserable. I'll hear a years worth of dumbasses n foot-in-asses in one day." He looked at Hyde, almost concerned. "It's not gonna be pretty, man."

"I know it's not." Hyde ran a hand over his beard, his eyes trained on the floor. He'd tried to tell the Formans about the baby, many times. But each time he'd opened his mouth the words had become stuck in his throat. It was enough that his friends hated him, having the Formans turn on him as well was going to be unbearable.

As if reading Hyde's mind Eric turned to him and said, "You gotta do it sooner or later, Hyde. Jackie walking 'round town with a stomach the size of a basketball is gonna get people talking, and there's only so much candy we can feed Fez before his mouth is finally empty enough to speak. The truth is gonna come out."

"Don't I know it," Hyde mumbled.

The basement went silent. Hyde had a trillion things he wanted to say to his foster brother but serious talk had never been his thing and he wasn't sure he could deal with another argument right now. They'd spoken a little bit since he'd come home, more than they'd done in the past few days. Surely it was progress and maybe, just maybe, the next time they saw each other in the kitchen or in the hallway at school they might even say 'hey'. But for now it was better he didn't push his luck.

Standing up to go to his bedroom, Hyde was surprised when Eric spoke again.

"Why, dude?" Eric asked.

"Why what?"

"Why _her_?" Eric sat right up and folded his arms across his chest. "Of all the girls in town why did you have to go n mess around with Jackie? Kelso was your oldest friend and you must've known that when this blew up it was gonna affect all of us. Why'd ya do it, man?"

Hyde slowly sat back down in his seat, his lips tight as he struggled to come up with an answer. _Coz she's hot...coz once I realised she was hot I couldn't keep my hands off her...coz she's funny...and cute...and smells like strawberries...and kissing her is the best thing I've ever done...aside from having sex with her..._

"I dunno, man," Hyde sighed. "She was there n it just happened..."

"Once? You only did it once and got her pregnant? Bad luck-"

Hyde shook his head and half laughed. "No, Forman, we did it more than once."

It was Eric's turn to shake his head, only his was in a disapproving manner. "Again, w _hy_? A drunken, one time thing I could kinda get...but more than once? She's the devil, dude. And Kelso's ex-girlfriend."

"Ex being the all important word-" Hyde reminded him.

"C'mon, Hyde. She was with him for years, you shouldn't have gone there," Eric said, sitting forward and leaning his elbows on his knees. "You had to know this wasn't gonna end well."

"Well I sure as hell didn't think it was gonna end like this." Hyde threw his aviators onto the wagon wheel and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I didn't think she'd end up fuckin' pregnant. No one was meant to find out about us...that's why we called it quits when Kelso n Donna got back from California. No one was meant to know..."

"Well the whole town's gonna know now," Eric commented. "Everyone's gonna know you did the deed with the devil and helped her procreate thus giving life to a new generation of shoe shopping, stuck-up, whiney little devils-"

"That's my kid you're talkin' about," Hyde reminded him. "And no kid of mine is gonna be stuck-up n whiney...or enjoy shoe shoppin' for that matter."

Eric smirked. "Oh yeah, good luck preventing all that, man, but I think you're forgetting one thing - the kid's mother."

Jackie.

Jackie Jackie Jackie.

There was not a chance in hell Hyde could forget about her. Not now. She wouldn't let him. She had him running round after her like she was the freaking queen. Suddenly remembering his instructions for the night Hyde checked his watch.

"You got 45 minutes," Eric said picking up a white piece of paper off the wagon wheel and handing it to Hyde.

Hyde shook his head as he examined the ridiculous timetable Kelso had drawn up a few days ago. Squiggly lines and messy writing dictated when and for how long Hyde could be in the basement thus ensuring further showdowns and eye patches were avoided.

"This is stupid." Hyde threw the flimsy paper back down. "How does he have the right to tell me when I can be in my own home?"

"Since you screwed his girlfriend," Eric remarked, accentuating his statement with a raise of both eyebrows.

"EX-girlfriend." God Hyde was sick and tired of reminding people Jackie was Kelso's ex.

"And got her pregnant."

Hyde stood up. "Thank you Captain Obvious," he said as he made his way to his bedroom. "Without you remindin' me every two minutes I'm pretty sure I'd forget I knocked up Jackie."

Eric turned around and waved a hand at Hyde. "Oh you're welcome, Hyde old buddy," he said with a smile. "I'm here to help. By the way, you now have 42 minutes."

 _Old buddy?_ This had to be progress, Hyde decided, so he stopped at his bedroom door and cleared his throat.

"Forty two minutes, huh?" he started. "I can be fed and showered in twenty...care to pass those other 22 with me in a semi-circle?"

Five days of lone circles had felt like five years and Hyde hoped that tonight could be the first step in rebuilding his friendships. First Eric, next Fez, then he'd begin working on Kelso.

Eric shrugged, a sly grin on his face. "Sure, why not?"

...

 _6_ _0 minutes later_

A cold blast of air sweeping across Jackie's face woke her and she pulled the duvet further up over her shoulders.

"Hi, daddy," she smiled before a small yawn escaped her lips.

Hyde stopped, mid climb - one leg dangling outside, one leg dangling inside - and frowned. "Jackie, I told you not to call me that, it's creepy."

"I know," Jackie said, sitting up in her bed as Hyde swung his leg inside and closed the window. "And that's what makes it funny."

"Well I'm not laughing." Hyde tossed a paper bag on the bed next to Jackie before walking over to the TV set in her bedroom and changing the channel. "What the hell were you watchin'? Mork n Mindy's about to start...now that's some funny shit."

Jackie shuffled over on the bed to make room for Hyde and opened the paper bag. "I wasn't watching anything. I'm so tired tonight," she said as she unwrapped her burger with the works. "Your baby makes me tired, Steven."

"My baby makes me tired," Hyde grumbled, propping one of Jackie's fluffy, pink pillows between his head and the wall. "Got me runnin' round pickin' up burgers n crap."

"About the 'crap'," Jackie said, rechecking the contents of the paper bag. "No shake? Just the burger?"

"Told you last night, I'm not climbing that trellis again with a shake. Milk stains...just ask my now ruined Stones t-shirt."

"Sorry," Jackie said with a grin.

"Sure you are."

Jackie sat back and ate her burger, grinning each time Hyde laughed at Robin Williams' crazy wardrobe attire. She liked hearing him laugh and found it especially sweet because it wasn't something he often did outside of the basement and without his friends. But here he was, sprawled out next to her on her bed, laughing so much the bed shook.

"So, you're -" Jackie started right before Hyde put a hand up in her face.

"Jackie, we've talked about this before. Finish your mouthful before you start flappin' your trap," he ordered, without taking his eyes off the TV.

Jackie rolled her eyes before chewing her mouthful with extra effort for dramatic effect right in Hyde's face. When she was finished she opened her mouth for him to inspect. "Is that okay?" she asked, poking her tongue out.

"You are disgusting," Hyde answered, playfully pushing her to the side.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Jackie began again, "you're a bit late tonight, where were you?"

The Kelso schedule had meant Hyde would climb through her window every night by seven o'clock and she had come to expect, and even look forward to, his arrival. The latter being much to her horror of course. She wasn't sure if it was their shared predicament, or an attraction on it's own merit, but he was growing on her.

"I was hangin' with Forman actually," Hyde said, glancing over at her with a hint of a smile.

"Really? That's fantastic!" Jackie was thrilled for him, she knew how much he'd missed the skinny dork's friendship. "I told you he wouldn't stay mad at you for long. You're practically brothers and quite frankly, he needs you."

Hyde laughed and raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly does he need me for? I'm the one livin' in his house."

"He needs you for the cool factor," Jackie explained. "Without your coolness and Michael's good looks Eric and Fez are nothing. No one would even know who they are. You give people a reason to know they even exist."

Tossing a cushion in Jackie's face, Hyde laughed again. "Oh, okay. That makes so much sense," he said sarcastically.

"I'm serious!" Jackie tossed the cushion back at him. "You so don't understand high school cliques do you, Steven?"

"No, and I don't want to."

"Lucky you have me to explain it all to you." Jackie sat up and folded her legs under her. "You see, there's the obvious cliques...the cheerleaders, the jocks, the nerds, the musos, but then we hit murky territory, which is where you guys come in. You see-"

"Jackie, I seriously don't give a shit. Stop talkin'. Like now."

"But-"

Without warning Hyde's hand covered Jackie's mouth, silencing her. "Enough, Jackie," he said, his tone belying the smile in his eyes. The eyes she had been increasingly finding herself lost in. "You wanna talk about cliques-" he removed his hand and raised his eyebrow, "-why don't we talk about how stupid yours is. I mean, come on, how haven't they noticed you're pregnant yet?"

Jackie shot him an unimpressed look. "Because I carry myself with grace and charm and dress-"

"In great big baggy Point Place High sweatshirts," Hyde cut in. "Yeah, I know. They're kinda hard to miss."

"I also wear other things!" Jackie exclaimed, horrified that he would imply she was anything other than fashion forward. The sweatshirts served their purpose for cheer practise but she always made sure she wasn't seen anywhere other than school in them. "I also wear my suede coat and my loose cashmere sweaters and..." She turned to Hyde, suddenly realising she shouldn't have to explain her wardrobe attire to him. "Actually, forget it. You would know what I wore if you weren't busy running in the opposite direction every time you saw me. Besides, the reason I wear sweatshirts on the odd occasion is for the good of both of us...you don't want anyone finding out about the baby either."

"For one - I don't _run_ in the opposite direction when I see you, I walk. And that's 'cause you told me not to talk to you at school...which I'm fine with by the way." Hyde grinned and cocked his head to the side, a movement Jackie found completely adorable. God, she was going soft...it had to be the hormones. "And two," Hyde started again, "I do appreciate you not exposin' our little secret just yet. So thank you."

Jackie couldn't shake the goofy grin that was currently plastered on her face. "Oh you're welcome," she managed to get out before Hyde's attention left her and moved back to the TV. She moved back to sit next to him again and found herself comforted by his scent. It wasn't a woody, expensive fragrance like Kelso's but it had grown on her and she had begun to like the musky undertones. It was manly. Much like the man who wore it.

"Are you sniffin' me, Jackie?" Hyde asked, shaking his right arm a little.

Jackie quickly lifted her head. "No."

"Ah, I think you were."

"Ew, don't be gross, Steven. Why would I want to sniff you?" Jackie lied, running a hand through her chocolate curls, hoping he'd notice the way they tumbled down over her shoulders. "I was thinking, that's all."

"About?"

Jackie bit down on her bottom lip as Hyde watched her too intensely for her liking. "Um, our parents, and when we're going to tell them." Thinking on her feet...if there was one thing Jackie was good at it was thinking on her feet. Hyde wouldn't be worried about her curious nose anymore...

Hyde's head fell back against the wall. "Yeah, man. I been thinkin' the same thing. We gotta do it...and soon before Kelso or Fez beat us to it."

"I agree," Jackie said, slowly letting her head fall back on Hyde's strong shoulder. "Maybe this weekend then? You want me to come to the Forman's and be there with you?"

Truth be told the thought of being in the same room as Red and Kitty when they found out Hyde was having a baby scared the crap out of her but if he wanted her there she'd go.

Hyde shook his head. "Nah, I gotta do this on my own," he said, much to her relief. "Um, did you want me-"

His voice was filled with so many nerves Jackie couldn't help but smile at how cute he sounded.

"No, Steven, it's fine. I'll deal with my parents on my own too." Without thinking, Jackie reached out and threaded her fingers through Hyde's. "It will be horrible, they'll be so disappointed..."

"I know what you mean," Hyde agreed, squeezing Jackie's hand. "But hey, can't be worse than telling Kelso can it?"

Jackie sighed at the thought of her ex-boyfriend. She had tried to talk to him numerous times at school over the last few days but he was having none of it. He would meet her gaze, scowl, and then promptly walk in another direction. When she called his house his younger brothers would tell her he couldn't talk because the phone in his bedroom was being cleaned which Jackie found odd as the Kelso's phones were all cleaned only a couple of years ago.

But as much as Michael's coldness hurt, Hyde's presence over the last week had done a lot to warm her. Sure he didn't say much, but he was still there. The burgers he brought with him helped too. The selfish side of Jackie was actually beginning to enjoy Kelso's basement schedule and the fact Hyde had no one else to turn to but her.

She would never tell him that though.

"Hey, so if things are good between you and Eric-" she said, changing the subject from parents to friends.

"I never said they were good, I said we hung out...had a circle...made progress," Hyde corrected her.

"Okay, so you made progress with Eric," Jackie said, loving the warmth of Hyde's sweater on her cheek. "What about Fez and Michael?"

Hyde dropped her hand from his, instead of holding it he began playing with the sapphire ring on her middle finger, gently twisting it around and around her finger.

"No progress with those two," he sighed.

"Me neither," Jackie said. "But hey, at least we have each other."

"That we do." Jackie looked up at Hyde and saw him roll his eyes as he spoke, but the little smile that crossed his lips told her he didn't find her company too irritating.

"And the baby," she added, patting her small bump that was barely visible under her flannel pajamas.

Hyde nodded. "And the baby."


	6. Chapter 6

**_A/N: Two chapters today instead of one...my way of apologising for the late update. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for the reviews, they're awesome and I love hearing what you all think. Next chapter up in a few days x_**

* * *

Pulling his jacket tight around his body, Hyde quickly made his way to the school parking lot. The air had an icy chill and the thought of eating lunch in the Camino was in no way appealing but Hyde had little choice. He was respecting Kelso's wishes and staying out of his way so the school cafeteria at lunchtime was off limits. As was the basement between three and five and the Hub on Friday nights. Eric had delivered the new, revised schedule yesterday and at first Hyde had protested the change in rules. The Hub should've been common ground, but Eric had convinced him to play along assuring him that in time Kelso would calm down. But for now Hyde had to play by his ex-best friend's rules and suck it up.

Once in the car, Hyde flicked on the radio and pulled a peanut-butter sandwich Mrs. Forman had made him out of the glovebox. Chomping away at his basic lunch he tried to shove his feelings of loneliness aside and concentrate on the bonuses of his new man-alone status. The biggest bonus, he'd decided last week, was that his stashes were lasting a whole lot longer now they were only split three ways. Fez, of course, was still on Kelso's side, and was refusing to speak to Hyde until Kelso allowed him too. Hyde wasn't sure if Fez's anger was completely down to Hyde's betrayal of Kelso or because the foreigner was jealous that Hyde had nailed Jackie. Whatever the reason, the circle was now comprised of Eric, Donna, Hyde, and a whole lot of film. They weren't as much fun as they used to be, but hey, there was plenty of them so that had to be a good thing right?

A knock at the window startled Hyde and he turned to see Jackie growling at him to let her in. Her lips were turning blue and her teeth were chattering which he found amusing, but as she was carrying his child he unlocked the door and let her in.

"What's up, Jackie?" he asked as a cold blast of wind shot through the car. "Thought we agreed not to talk at school?"

Jackie slammed the car door before rubbing her gloved hands up and down her arms in an attempt to warm up.

"Yeah I know," she said. "But no one will see us out here so we're safe."

Hyde followed Jackie's gaze out over the parking lot. There wasn't a person out there, only rows and rows of parked cars. Everyone was passing the lunchtime inside the warm cafeteria. Well all those who had friends anyway.

"So, are you ready?" Jackie asked, her eyes wide and slightly glassy from the cold.

"For what?" Hyde asked.

"Steven, we talked about this last night. We have to go to the mall and pick you out a suit for dinner tonight. I can't go after school because I have cheer practise. So come on, get this car started, we only have an hour."

Hyde held his sandwich in his hand, and stared at her. "Dinner's tonight?"

Jackie nodded. "Yes it's tonight and you're not wearing you're scruffy jeans to my house. My parents are already going ballistic over the baby so when they meet my child's father I don't want them frisking him when he walks in. You need to look presentable so that they're not completely destroyed."

Hyde's head fell back on leather seat. Dinner with the Burkharts and the Formans. Tonight. Jackie had told her parents about the baby a few nights ago and Hyde had told the Formans at the same time. Surprisingly, he still had a roof over his head, but unsurprisingly Red hadn't stopped yelling since he'd found out. There was the odd time Red didn't yell though, like when he had food in his mouth. During those times he would just stare at Hyde with menacing eyes probably cursing him to hell in his head. Between Red and Kelso, Hyde's life well and truly sucked right now.

And dinner was just gonna make it worse.

"Jackie, did you even try to talk your parents out of this thing?" he asked with a sigh.

"Of course I did! Do you really think I want to watch them interrogate you until you throw grandmother's china all over the dining room? There's no getting out of it, Steven, no matter how much we'd both rather poke needles in our eyes. By the sounds of it Mrs. Forman is eager to talk to my parents too so we're just going to have to grin and bear it..." she smiled sweetly and added, "with you in a suit."

Hyde tossed his half-eaten sandwich out the window and started the car. "Man, this is gonna blow," he said, partly in reference to the dinner, and partly in reference to shopping with Jackie.

"Yeah, I know," Jackie said quietly. "But hey, we have each other right? And if you behave I promise I won't kill you."

They have each other? She had said it again and just the thought left an uneasy feeling in Hyde's gut. He'd lost Kelso and Fez and was only just hanging onto Eric, but he _had_ Jackie of all people? A few months ago he couldn't stand being in the same room as her and her incessant whining and now he was talking to her everyday. Now he was going to the mall with her and having dinner with her and her parents.

Her place in his life confused him and he had no idea why.

Once they were in the mall Hyde gave Jackie the rules. Black suit, no colourful ties, and no shiny shoes. To his surprise she was happy with that so finding the suit was pretty painless.

"You scrub up surprisingly well," Jackie said as she brushed her hand across Hyde's shoulder and viewed his appearance in the mirror. She was smiling and Hyde found her smile made him smile. Being with her was becoming more and more confusing.

"I know," he said, trying to avoid looking at her as she held different ties up in front of him. He shook his head at the ones he didn't like but when she held up a silver and black bolo tie he nodded. "That one," he said.

"I would've preferred the purple one," Jackie said as she lifted the collar of his shirt and placed the leather tie around his neck. "But I guess this will work. Mother does like Latin American things after all."

As she stood in front of him fussing with his clothes Hyde couldn't help but notice the bump that kept pressing into him. It hadn't seemed real before - the pregnancy. Sure he knew a baby was coming and he knew it'd created all kinds of problems in his life, but to look at Jackie you'd never have known. Hence why she was still hanging on to her place at school. But now, to someone who'd gotten to know her body as intimately as he had over the summer, the changes were starting to appear. Her chest was bigger, and her usually flat stomach now protruded.

Ever so discretely Hyde's hand lightly skimmed over the bump. "Gettin' bigger huh?" he stated, looking down at her.

Jackie's eyes widened and she stepped back in shock. "Steven! Don't do that here!" she growled, looking around the quiet menswear section. "You'll make it obvious!"

"It's gonna be pretty obvious soon, Jackie. You can't hide it forever y'know."

Jackie hurriedly pulled his suit jacket off ready to take to the counter, her cheeks flush in what he could only describe as cute embarrassment. "Well I'm fairly sure I can hide it for another month at least, and that's what I intend to do. So if you wouldn't mind not groping me in public I'd very much appreciate it."

Hyde rolled his eyes and unbuttoned his shirt. "I wasn't groping you. I was feeling my baby, and newsflash, it's growing. Get used to it."

Jackie frowned and reached a hand out to take the white shirt from him. "Oh I am getting used to it," she said angrily. "If anyone needs to get used to it it's you."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Hyde walked into the changing room to change back into his jeans.

"What it means," Jackie explained from behind the thin door, "Is that while you're busy hiding in your room or mine from Michael I'm out there planning for the birth of our child."

"I'm not _hiding_ from Kelso, I've givin' him space to cool down."

Jackie held her hand over the top of the door and Hyde gave her the pants. As he slipped his jeans back on he wished he was anywhere but here with her talking about this. Eric and Donna were constantly on at him about making amends with Kelso but it wasn't gonna happen anytime soon and he just wanted everyone to drop it. In time Kelso would calm down and Hyde was sure they'd just settle back into their old roles but for now active avoidance was the best course of action.

"You're hiding, Steven. And it's stupid. You two have been friends forever and your feud is making the rest of us uncomfortable. You need to talk to him."

Hyde swung the door open and stared down at Jackie. "What do you mean _my_ feud? From what I remember, he was hatin' you just as much as me."

Jackie shrugged and started walking to the counter, Hyde a few steps behind her. "Unlike you, I talked to Michael...explained what happened over summer. It took a few visits n calls but he's okay with me now. In fact, he even offered to help me pick out toys for the nursery."

Hyde bunched his hands in his pockets and bit his tongue. Of course Kelso would forgive Jackie. She was small, and pretty, and her growing chest wouldn't have gone unnoticed by a perv like Kelso.

"Well isn't that just peachy," Hyde snarled as Jackie set the suit down on the counter. Before she could open her mouth Hyde turned and began walking to the door. "I'll be waiting in the car," he called back to her, trying to conceal just how pissed off he was that once again he alone was the bad guy.

...

By the time Hyde arrived at the Burkhart's that night he was even more pissed off with Jackie. It'd taken a few stern words from Mrs. Forman to even make him put on the new suit she'd bought for him that afternoon, so determined was he to make her night miserable.

Miserable. Yeah, Jackie deserved to be as miserable as he was. He'd decided that that afternoon when he was holed up in his bedroom listening to Eric, Fez and Kelso talk about the benefits of being high while one was nude ice skating. How the hell had she managed to convince Kelso to forgive her while leaving Hyde high and dry confined to a tiny bedroom everyday for three hours? He would make her pay for that, and tonight was the perfect setting.

Kitty admired the Burkhart's grand estate for the 70th time in three minutes before pressing on the doorbell.

"Oh, Red, isn't it just gorgeous?" she enthused, lightly touching the top of a round buxus next to the door.

Red took yet another opportunity to snarl at Hyde before turning to his wife. "I wonder how gorgeous it'll be when we're being thrown out of it 'cause of this dumbass?" the old man said, nodding in Hyde's direction.

"Now, now, Red." Kitty placed a calming hand on Red's chest. "You promised to be civil tonight and I'm sure the Burkharts will be the same, so let's just put our happy faces on and enjoy the evening." She smiled up at Red, then the smile quickly faded. "But we can't be too happy, we don't want them to think we don't care that Steven impregnated their teenage daughter."

"Kill me now," Hyde groaned under his breath.

"Believe me, I would if there was some kinda guarantee Kitty wouldn't cry and call the police on-"

Red's words were cut off by the door opening and a warm greeting from the housekeeper Hyde had come to know was Rosa. The friendly woman took their coats before showing them through to the lounge, Kitty admiring every painting, trinket, and piece of furniture she passed along the way. As they entered the lounge Jackie quickly jumped up and rushed over to them.

"Hello, Mrs. Forman, Mr. Forman," she said with a smile. "Please come in and take a seat." Hyde followed as Jackie led them to the long, cream couch, trying hard to avoid looking at Jackie's father. Jack Burkhart, while not a big man was nonetheless a commanding presence and made Hyde even more nervous than Red. Jack stood up from his leather lounger on the other side of the room and briefly greeted his guests. When he shook Hyde's hand his grip was firm and his eyes were piercing. And Hyde wanted to bolt right then.

"Please, sit down," Jackie offered, after introductions were over.

Hyde took a seat next to Kitty and was unamused when Jackie squeezed herself in-between him and the arm of the couch. Her hair was down tonight, tumbling in loose curls down her back, and it smelled like vanilla. Hyde tried to ignore her delicious scent, and how pretty she looked in her pink and white dress, but her elbow digging into his side was making it hard.

"You look nice, Steven," she whispered as Red, Jack and Kitty chatted about the lack of job prospects in Point Place.

Hyde ignored her and cleared his throat.

She elbowed him again. "Don't you think I look nice?" she asked.

"Whatever." Hyde shrugged and leaned back in his seat only to be elbowed on his other side by Mrs. Forman.

"Sit up straight," Kitty whispered under her breath.

Just as Hyde straightened his back, Jackie's mother breezed into the room, champagne glass in hand, breathtaking smile on her face. Red and Hyde immediately stood to greet her.

"I'm Pamela," she said taking Hyde's hand, "so you must be my little grandbaby's father?"

Hyde nodded dumbly as he stared at the older Burkhart woman. "Ah, yes, yes I am."

"Well aren't you cute?" Pamela pinched Hyde's cheek and laughed, causing Hyde to grin like a child. A tug on his jacket from Kitty pulled him back to reality and he sat back down as Pamela greeted Red. Red's face was a picture of delight, prompting Hyde to laugh and Jack to look even more annoyed. A tug on Red's jacket from Kitty ended the introductions and everyone sat down.

Holding a tumbler of whiskey in his hand, jack stood up and moved to a spot by the fireplace.

"Now we're all here," he started, glancing at his wife, "I'd jut like to state how thoroughly disappointed I am by this turn of events." Hyde felt Jackie tense next to him as his own palms went sweaty. "Babies having babies is what this is and I'd like to know how you both think you're going to support yourselves."

This was the time Hyde had planned to make Jackie miserable by telling her father he had no intentions of getting a job and had hoped to cruise through life by playing his three string guitar outside the Piggly Wiggly. But now the time was here, and four parents were waiting for him to explain how he would support his child, his personal vendetta against Jackie seemed stupid. He'd spent so much time stewing over Kelso he hadn't even thought about the practicalities of his impending fatherhood and now he needed an answer. Fast. Hyde looked to Kitty, her only support a sympathetic smile.

He was on his own.

"Well, sir-" His tone was confident, hopefully concealing his nerves. "-I'm a senior at school right now so I don't have a large income, but I do work part-time and have some cash saved up."

"Cash saved up from your part-time job? Well that's wonderful...we can all breathe a sigh of relief knowing that my daughter and her child are taken care of!" Jack snorted, swilling his drink around the glass.

Hyde felt his face redden in embarrassment. He was 18 for gods sake, what the hell did this guy expect?

"I'll try n get some more hours an-"

"Yes, a few more hours a week will solve it all," Jack said sarcastically. "A couple more dollars a week will pay for diapers, and bottles, and clothes, not to mention baby furniture and daycare. Gosh I'm a lucky man to have such a hardworker taking care of my daughter."

To Hyde's surprise Jackie placed a hand on his arm and he hoped she couldn't feel how fast his heart was beating. This had to go down as one of his most embarrassing moments, made even worse by her being there to witness it.

"Daddy," she said sweetly to her father, "I don't need Steven to take care of me, I have you and mom."

Pamela smiled and lifted her glass to Jackie. "Of course you do, darling, and we'll always be here for you and our grandbaby, won't we Jack?"

Hyde watched as Jack's eyes darkened at his wife and daughter's words. "If we can be, we will be. But the point is, Jackie, there is no guarantee that your mother and I will be here to support you. You have chosen to bring another life into this world so now it's up to you and the child's father to work out how you're going to support yourselves."

"What do you mean there's no guarantee you'll be here for me?" Jackie stood up, a puzzled expression on her face. "You're my parent's, you _have_ to be here for me. That's your job."

Hyde discretely rolled his eyes. Jackie walked into that one...

"Exactly," Jack said just like Hyde knew he would. "It is a parent's job to care for their child, and you and Steven here are about to be parents to your own child, so you need to start preparing."

Jackie looked mortified causing Pam to quickly stand up and wrap an arm around her daughter.

"But, daddy...I don't know how to prepare for the baby," she whispered, staring at her father.

"Well that's what we're here for!" Kitty clapped her hands together before setting them on her lap. "We have so many baby things in our attic, don't we Red?" The old man to Kitty's right shrugged before glaring again at Hyde. "We can pull those down and spruce them up. And I can ask my church friends to start knitting, those ladi-"

"I don't want old, used things!" Jackie declared, adding a foot stomp for extra effect. Hyde closed his eyes. He was having a child with a child. A spoilt one at that. "I wanted _new_ things, matching things...like in the magazines."

Pamela cupped Jackie's face. "And that's what you shall have, darling, don't you worry. I don't know what your father is talking about, but just know that I will personally see to it that our baby has the best nursery in town."

Jackie smiled a triumphant smile as everyone else in the room slowly shook their heads in dismay.

"Jackie, Pamela!" Jack growled. "Having a child at seventeen isn't just about designing a nursery. I want to know what both of them are going to do about school, and college, and jobs."

"For once, Jack, I agree with you. I didn't come here to talk about baby furniture, I wanna know if these dumbasses have a plan." Red shuffled to the edge of his seat and looked between Jackie and Hyde. If there was ever a time Hyde wanted a plan, it was now. He hated Red Forman being disappointed in him and he hated that he'd put more pressure on his foster parents. His kid was becoming their problem and it made him sick to his stomach.

"Look, by this time next year I'll be finished school and working. The baby will only be a few months old by then and in the meantime we'll just have to make do with the money I get from the hotel...or I'll look for more hours somewhere else."

Kitty rubbed the top of Hyde's hand. "But, Steven, if you work anymore than you already do there won't be time for study and you need to study. You have to pass high school, honey."

"Jackie can look for a job as well, with both of them working part-time they should be able to save enough to tie them over until Steven finishes school." Jack's words were met with two horrified gasps by way of Jackie and Pam.

"Daddy, I can't work!" Jackie cried. "I'm pregnant!"

"Pregnant, Jackie, not sick or disabled. I'm sure you can pick up a non-strenuous job, especially with Christmas coming up," Jack stated as he refilled his glass.

Hyde caught Jackie's eye and could see the despair she felt. She held his gaze long enough to plead with him to not send her out to work. This would've been the perfect time to make her miserable, but again he couldn't do it. Her bottom lip protruded and with it all his silly vengeance against her filtered away.

"No, Jackie won't be working," Hyde said defiantly. "I'm the father and it's my job to provide for my kid. I'll do what I have to do, while Jackie takes care of growin' our child." Hyde heard Jackie's sigh of relief and it nearly made him smile, but the extra 10 tonnes of worry he'd just placed on his own shoulders prevented him from doing so.

Jack nodded and sat down. "Very noble," he smirked suspiciously. "Speaking of nobility, did it not cross your mind that my daughter will be an un-wed mother therefore her child - your child - will be a bastard?"

Kitty's face quickly turned to look at Hyde, anticipating his response. Ever since he'd told her about the baby she'd been banging on about him making an honest woman out of Jackie and she obviously hoped that pressure from Jack Burkhart would force his hand. The truth was though, even with a baby there was no way a marriage between him and Jackie would work. They were polar opposites and the only time they got on was when they were in bed. Physical attraction could only take people so far and Hyde was fairly sure that married people talked and hung out...he couldn't just have sex with her all day.

"Jackie n I have discussed marriage and have both agreed it wouldn't work."

Jack clicked his tongue before asking, "What about living arrangements? Will you be living together when the baby arrives?"

Hyde looked to Jackie. He had taken the marriage question so it was only fair she took this one. Again she pleaded with him to help but this time he wasn't backing down. Sitting back in his seat he waited for her to respond.

"Well, daddy," she said nervously, still standing in her mother's arms. "As Steven and I aren't technically a couple we won't be living together, ever. We'll share the baby...two happy homes is better than one miserable one, right?" As she tucked a curl behind her ear Hyde grinned at her. She'd answered well and surely Jack wouldn't have a comeback for that.

To everyone's surprise it was Red who responded to Jackie's explanation. "In my day," he started, "when you made a mess you manned up and took care of it, no matter how old you were. Now don't get me wrong, I'm pleased you're both staying in school and getting your education. And Steven, I commend you for knowing that you're gonna have to work to support this kid. But I also think that at some point in the last few months you two must've liked each other enough to make this kid so I don't understand why a proper relationship is out of the question. The child isn't gonna know if it's coming or going having parents who aren't together."

When Hyde felt the heat subside from his face he looked over at Jackie. Her face was still pink and she was biting on her bottom lip. Yip. This was officially the most humiliating night of Hyde's life, and with Edna and Bud as parents there were definitely a few nights to choose from.

"Oh, Red," Pamela laughed and batted a hand in Red's direction. "This is the 70s. A family isn't necessarily always a mom, dad, and the children. Times are changing and we can't force these kids into something they don't want."

In unison Hyde and Jackie thanked Pam for her support and were relieved when Rosa came in to announce dinner was now being served in the formal dining room. As the parents made their way out of the lounge Jackie slipped her hand into Hyde's and pulled him back.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" she asked. Hyde had to laugh. In the last twenty minutes Jackie had cried, stomped her foot, and whined like a child a hundred times. How was that not so bad?

"Are you kiddin', Jackie? That was freakin' torture and we still have to sit through dinner-"

"And dessert." Jackie grinned and her eyes sparkled when she saw Hyde tug on his tie at the thought of another course on top of dinner. She batted his hand away from his neck and straightened up his tie. "But don't worry, as we just proved in there, we make a pretty good team don't ya think?"

Hyde furrowed his brow as Jackie led him out of the lounge. Team? Him and Jackie? As far as he was concerned he'd rescued her more times than she'd rescued him therefore they weren't a team, but because of the kid he was stuck with her whether he liked it or not. He just hoped his 'teammate' grew up sometime soon.


	7. Chapter 7

Freaking Christmas.

She hadn't even made it to the Christmas freaking holidays without everybody at school finding out she was a pregnant, seventeen year old skank.

Before today the rumours had been relatively easy to dismiss. After the morning sickness had subsided people had quickly forgotten all about the bulimia tale and had largely ignored Jackie's sudden fondness for sweatshirts. But when Pam and Jack had demanded Jackie quit the cheerleading squad the pregnancy rumours had taken off and they had gained momentum very quickly. Jackie was fairly sure a large part of that had to do with a certain foreigner who had a mouth as big as his stomach. Fez was terrible at keeping secrets, especially when offered candy in exchange for juicy goss, and when Jackie had opened her Secret Santa in class that morning her worst fears had been confirmed.

The truth was out and there was no denying it.

It was during English class that Jackie's whole world had fallen apart. Mr. Johnson had granted permision for students to exchange their secret presents, much to their delight. When Jackie had eagerly unwrapped the beautifully decorated gift left on her desk the entire class had watched in anticipation. Too absorbed in undoing green and red ribbon, Jackie hadn't even noticed the sniggers and snide comments flying around the classroom. But when she unfolded the small white cloth and revealed the baby's bib that read 'Product of the Stoner & the Princess' every cruel word was amplified and her heart had crumbled.

They knew she was pregnant and they knew who the father of her baby was.

And they'd even taken the time to find a pink felt tip pen that could write on flannel.

It was mortifying.

The eruption of laughter that filled the room was enough to send Jackie flying out of class, ignoring Mr. Johnson's pleas for her to sit down and the class to settle down. The humiliated brunette had fled to the sanctuary of the girl's toilets and found herself bawling into cheap, one-ply toilet paper in a bathroom stall. This was so not how she'd imagined this day would go. The last day of school before Christmas was supposed to be a fun one. People exchanged gifts, teachers were in a good mood as they counted down the hours to the holidays, the cafeteria gave away iced Christmas biscuits in the shapes of stars, Christmas trees and candy canes. Now Jackie would miss all of it.

The sound of the bathroom door opening silenced her sobs. Wiping her tears with toilet tissue, Jackie waited for whoever it was to do their business and get out so that she could continue her pity party but a loud knock on her stall startled her.

"Jackie, it's me, open the door."

"Steven?"

While the sound of Hyde's gruff voice was somewhat comforting it left Jackie a little confused. How on earth did he know she was in there and more to the point, why did he care? He hadn't said much to her since the dinner at her parents the previous week and she'd figured it was best to leave him alone while he brooded over whatever the heck he was brooding about.

"No, it's Santa. Just open the door," he ordered, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Jackie wiped her face again and pressed the pads of her fingertips hard under her eyes hoping to reduce the puffiness in record time. Slowly, she unlatched the door but the second she saw Hyde's grumpy face she couldn't stop herself from flinging her arms around his neck and bursting into tears again.

"Oh my god, Steven," Jackie wailed onto his shoulder. "It was just awful. They all laughed at me...I can never come back here again."

Hyde pulled her in close, gently stroking the curls that fell down her back. "Who cares what they think-" he started.

"I care!" Jackie cried, unable to fathom how he could be so chill about the whole school finding about them. "I care what they think! This is big news, Steven. There hasn't been a pregnant student at this school in four years and she had the good sense to leave before everybody knew. I should've gone...I should've left town..."

"Jackie...stop with the dramatics man...sooner or later they were gonna find out. Or were you gonna hide the kid away forever? No time was a good time for them to find out but now they do you just gotta own it. Hidin' in the toilets isn't helping." Hyde released his grip a little and looked down at Jackie. He took his thumbs and ran them under her eyes, wiping away the new tears that were falling.

"I can't go back in there, Steven," Jackie said sadly between sobs. "Not today. Not ever."

To her dismay Hyde smiled. "So you're leavin' school then, huh?"

"I'm leaving _this_ school," she adamantly replied. "They gave me a bib, Steven...with handwritten words on it that Mr. freaking Johnson even read. I am officially the biggest joke in this damn school. Actually, make that town. I am the biggest joke in Point Place...or at least I will be sometime in the next 24 hours."

"That's a pretty big call," Hyde said seriously. "I mean - Kelso's held that title for a long time now, and before him there was Jimmy Headgear. And, Jackie, these guys didn't just _give_ themselves the title, it was an honour bestowed on them by the rest of us. You just sayin' you're the biggest joke doesn't really count-"

"Oh it counts alright!" Jackie snapped, gabbing more toilet tissue from the dispenser. "Even a man-whore like Michael didn't get a girl pregnant-"

Hyde grinned. "That we know of."

"-and Jimmy Headgear may be simple but he wasn't stupid enough to get someone pregnant."

"Probably because no one was stupid enough to sleep with him," Hyde shrugged.

Jackie rolled her eyes. How was it that Hyde had managed to turn this mortifying experience into a semi-argument? Why couldn't he just leave her to feel sorry for herself?

"Ugh!" she growled, stomping her foot in exasperation. "I'm not arguing with you right now, Steven. Thanks to stupid Bob Donna's not here so you're all I've got." It was a sad fact, but a fact nonetheless, Hyde was the only person Jackie had in that school at that very moment so arguing with him just wasn't an option. The only thing more embarrassing than walking out of school pregnant was walking out of school pregnant and _alone._ She needed him. "So, are you taking me home or what?"

Jackie walked to the basin and splashed some cold water over her face. As she patted her face dry with a paper towel she caught Hyde's reflection in the mirror, he was smiling...almost proudly. "Well?" she asked, lightly dabbing some lip gloss on her lips.

Hyde sighed before walking over to her and patting her on the head like she was a child. "I didn't plan on skippin' today but I can make an exception seeing as you got my kid in you n'all," he said as though he was doing Jackie an almighty favour. "I'll let you have today off but after that you gotta pull yourself together n face these assholes."

"Whatever," Jackie sighed, tossing her bag over her shoulder before checking her reflection once more. When she was sure looked good enough she began walking to the door. "Coming?" she asked Hyde, pulling the heavy door open.

Hyde dutifully followed. "So how're we gonna do this?" He was walking by Jackie's side, for once keeping up with her quick steps.

Conscious of the nosey faces peering out of the glass doors Jackie grab Hyde's hand, intertwining their fingers. She felt him hesitate at first, tensing before relaxing his muscles and letting his fingers curl around hers.

"Together," Jackie finally answered as they marched out of the main doors and into the cold morning air.

...

Jackie lay next to Hyde on his small cot listening to his steady, even breaths. He'd fallen asleep ten minutes ago and she was getting bored. There was nothing to do in his tiny bedroom but they'd had no other option. A quick drive-by of her place told them her mother was home so they couldn't ditch school there, and the sound of Tom Jones blasting from upstairs indicated Kitty hadn't gone to work yet. So they'd parked the Camino around the block and braved the short walk in icy conditions to bunker down in Hyde's room until the coast was clear.

"Steven," she nudged him gently until he stirred.

"Mmmm?" His eyes flickered open for a second before closing again.

"Wake up, I'm bored," she whispered.

"Pregnant women need their rest, Jackie. Use this time to rest."

Jackie rolled onto her side to face him and tucked her hands under her cheek. "I'm not tired right now."

"Well I am," Hyde said, closing his eyes again.

"How did you know?" Jackie asked.

Hyde opened one eye and his forehead creased in confusion. "Know that I was tired?"

"No, silly. How did you know about the bib and me crying? Your class is on the other side of the school." It'd puzzled Jackie since he'd found her in the bathroom an hour earlier and she just had to know how word had gotten to him so fast.

"Kelso," he stated.

"Michael? How did Michael know? And I didn't think you two were even talking?"

"We're not. Kelso had been in the Principle's office when it all went down. On his way back to class he ran into some chick who told him what'd happened n he came n told me, said I should go find you. And I did n now we're here. And now we should sleep." He smiled before closing her eyelids with his fingertips. "Goodnight, Jackie."

Jackie swatted his hand away. "I said I wasn't tired," she snapped forcing him to groan and roll onto his back.

"Fine," he sighed. "What d'ya wanna do?"

"We could talk?" she suggested, "about the baby."

"Yip, fine, whatever," Hyde grumbled, running a hand over his beard.

Jackie's face lit up and she propped herself up on her elbow, looking down at Hyde. "Did you know the baby can hear us? I've been talking to her so she gets to know me and the sound of my voice. You should do it too so that baby recognises you when he or she arrives."

As Jackie lifted her thin woollen sweater to expose her baby bump, Hyde quickly stopped her.

"Jackie, I'm not talking to your stomach," he stated firmly, holding her wrist preventing her from lifting her top any higher.

"You won't be talking to my stomach, you'll be talking to our baby, Steven. Don't you want him or her to know your voice?" If he'd bothered reading the books Jackie had given him he'd know the benefits of speaking to a child growing in the womb. But the books were still on the chair in his room where she'd left them a week ago.

"The baby will get to hear my voice plenty when it's born. I'm sure it can wait 'til then. Who wants to hear their old man's voice any more than they have to?"

Hyde dropped Jackie's wrist and put his hands under his head. He smirked when he caught a glimpse of Jackie's raised eyebrows.

"Please, Steven?" she asked sweetly. "Just say something to the baby? Most women have their husbands around when they're pregnant...I'm alone and sometimes it's like everyone forgets I've got a little one in here." She stroked her bump and noticed Hyde's face soften a little. "I promise I won't tell anyone...not even Donna."

Hyde sighed loudly and pointed a finger at her. "Fine. But I'm not sayin' much and if you tell a soul I'm denying it."

Jackie smiled and lay down on her back while Hyde rolled onto his side and propped his head up on his hand. Lifting up her top Jackie wished she had a camera to capture this moment for her baby. Surely the first words a father spoke to his child were important?

Hyde cleared his throat and looked at her bump. "Ah, hi baby. I'm Hyde, your dad... _apparently_." He glanced up at Jackie and grinned. She scowled back and pulled her top back down.

"Oh funny haha."

Hyde chuckled and pulled her top back up, this time leaving his warm hand on her bump. "I was kidding, Jackie, calm down. Lemme try again," he said with a glint in his eye, one that she found completely adorable. The feel of his hand on her bare skin gave her butterflies and she was pleased he was looking at her stomach and not her blushing face.

"Fine, try again," she sighed, while her mind spun with thoughts of his hand elsewhere. "Just do your best not to sound like a prick this time."

Again Hyde cleared his throat before speaking. "Hello, baby," he began while moving his fingertips lightly across Jackie's belly, "I'm your father. I hope you're being good in there n growin' nice and big. You should be coz your mom eats a whole lot - " Jackie swatted him on the head but he continued, " - but she eats a whole lotta crap n not the good stuff you need like vegetables and shit-"

"Yeah, that's enough out of you," Jackie frowned and tugged on her top but Hyde held it up in place.

"I haven't finished," he whispered to her before turning back to her bump. "But don't worry baby, I'll start makin' your ma eat properly so that you're big n strong like me n not skinny n weedy like your Uncle Eric. So, yeah, I'll talk to you again soon. In the meantime, try and find somethin' to block out the sound of your ma's voice...actually, if you find something that works be sure to let me know what it is when you get out here."

Hyde laughed when Jackie smacked the top of his head again. He'd talked a whole lot of crap to their child but the fact he'd even done it was something she found so endearing. Who knew Hyde could be such a softie? Not Jackie that's for sure.

"Beautiful words, Steven," Jackie stated sarcastically, secretly thrilled that his hand hadn't moved even though he was no longer talking.

'Hey I did it didn't I?" He carefully applied a little bit of pressure to her belly. "Woah, that's really hard!"

Jackie laughed. "Well there is a baby in there."

Hyde continued to prod. "Yeah but it's not that big yet and this is hard all over."

"Well my uterus has expanded up and out of my-"

Hyde stopped his prodding and went back to gently rubbing her skin. "Yeah, okay, that's enough of that."

For a few moments Jackie just lay there while Hyde rubbed her baby bump. In her head she willed him to go higher, or lower, or do something, but he seemed completely entranced with the idea that his child was actually growing inside of her. Cautiously, Jackie propped herself up so that her face was next to his, and waited for him to move. When he didn't she took it as a positive sign.

"Thank you for today, Steven," she whispered. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't found me."

Hyde shrugged and stared at her belly. "No problem, man. Can't have my baby's mother trapped in a bathroom stall all Christmas can I? People might'a started wonderin' where you were...might'a thought I'd off-ed you or somethin'."

Jackie smiled and tentatively stroked his cheek with her hand, turning her body into his in the process. He looked at her surprised, but before he could say anything her mouth had caught his and her body had pushed him onto his back underneath hers. Hyde didn't kiss back at first, his hands just sat loosely on her hips. But after a few flicks of her tongue, and impatient nibbles on his lower lip, he finally let himself succumb to Jackie's advances.

Stunned by her aggressiveness, Hyde kissed her back fervently as his hand slid up her back and tangled in her hair. His eagerness was enough for Jackie to say goodbye to the self-consciousness she'd felt only moments ago. Being with Hyde again was as exhilarating as it always had been and right now she was willing to take whatever he was offering. Her tongue invaded his mouth begging him to deepen the kiss, and her heart fluttered when he obliged.

Never breaking the kiss, Hyde wrapped both arms around Jackie and carefully flipped them over. Once she was on her back his mouth left hers and moved to her neck, licking, sucking, nipping at her sensitive areas. His ministrations were intoxicating and Jackie was giddy with a desperate need to have him. Her eyes closed in pleasure as her hands worked their way up his back and into his hair. She had to have him, no matter the consequences.

Panting, she whispered, "Have sex with me, Steven."

All of a sudden his mouth broke contact with her neck. Annoyed, Jackie opened her eyes and saw bright blue ones staring down at her.

"Steven , why did you stop?" she purred, running her hands up under his t-shirt.

Hyde pulled himself up so he was on his knees between her legs, his face a picture of remorse.

He took several deep breaths before saying, "We can't do this."

Jackie sat up and wrapped a hand around his neck before arching her body into his. "Yes we can." Even Jackie was surprised by her own boldness but no sex in nearly six months did that to a girl. Especially a girl who was lucky enough to have been pleasured by Steven Hyde. She'd missed him and today she wanted him. Pulling his mouth to hers she kissed him again. Grinding her body against his she felt his arousal and knew it wouldn't be long before he gave in to her advances.

When Hyde pushed her down and jumped off the bed Jackie was mortified. Never had she suffered rejection in the middle of such intimacy, and for it to have happened after her public humiliation at school was nearly too much to handle.

"Jackie, we needa talk," Hyde said, reaching over her to pick up his sunglasses.

Jackie straightened out her sweater and sat on the edge of his cot. She wanted to look at anything but him so her eyes locked on the stack of board games behind him.

"There's not much to talk about, I threw myself at you, you blew me off. No biggie," she said nonchalantly, not wanting him to know how upset she was over his rejection.

"Look, we got a kid on the way, the last thing we needa be doin' is confusing what we are to each other," Hyde explained.

"Yeah, okay, Steven...you don't have to explain, I get it, you don't want me...sorry, it won't happen again." Jackie stood up, still avoiding making eye contact with Hyde, and tried to get to the door. The embarrassment she felt was making her feel sick and she had to get away.

Hyde stepped in front of her, preventing her from leaving. "Jackie, its not like that, man," he said, holding her by her upperarms. "But think about it...we've already pissed our friends off by hookin' up...what would they say if they found out we were hookin' up again?"

Jackie shrugged. "Who cares?"

"You weren't sayin' that a few months ago."

"A few months ago I wasn't having your child," Jackie shot back, finally looking up at him. Everything between them was different now, how could he not see that?

Hyde's hands dropped from her arms and he walked to the cot and sat down. "Yeah, but just 'cause we're havin' a baby together it doesn't mean we should be together. I'm not gonna be the guy you end up stuck with-"

"But you wouldn't be that guy, Steven," Jackie explained, sitting down next to him. "We've grown closer over the last few months. Today, for example, you came to look for me to check I was okay...you wouldn't have done that before. And the way you handled my dad and stuck up for me...I had never imagined you could be like that."

She really had seen a different side to Hyde over the last few months and she was starting to really like him. When they'd been together over the summer things had stayed mostly physical. They hadn't really talked, well not about anything important. They had hung out as friends and made out as two people with a major attraction to each other. But thoughts of Kelso had stopped them moving any further and had eventually forced them to stop altogether.

"I'm not gonna be with someone just 'cause we share a kid, Jackie," Hyde said quietly, his hands clasped together on his knees. "I saw what my parents did to each other n I'm not doin' that to my kid."

Jackie leaned her head on his shoulder. "I'm not asking you to marry me," she said. "Maybe we could just see how things go? Just try 'us'?"

"We could've tried 'us' five months ago, Jackie, but you didn't want to...which proves my point...you only want me 'cause you can't have Kelso. I'm not playin' second best to him, man and I'm not gonna be forever lookin' over my shoulder in case he decides he wants you back." Hyde stood up abruptly and moved to sit on the armchair. He was pissed off with her. Pissed off that after their summer together she hadn't fought harder to stay with him. Instead, when he had said they should stop and that she should try and get Kelso back, she'd agreed.

But she hadn't agreed because she was in love with Michael or because they had an undeniable physical connection. He was just the safer option. He fit more into her idealised cookie-cutter life than someone like Hyde. Hyde was rough around the edges and kept his heart close to sleeve, and while a life with him would never be dull or boring it would be hard work. She would be forever wondering how he felt about her and whether he cared as much as she did. Which is why she'd chosen the easier option at the end of summer. The option that didn't bring with it friends drama and the eventual hurt that would come when Hyde realised he didn't want a girlfriend. Especially one that was a cheerleader.

"I wanted you last summer." Jackie's heart thumped in her chest as she admitted the feelings she'd had for him. Hyde looked over at her, his stare so intense it forced her to look away. "I wanted you but you gave me no indication that you felt the same way about me. In fact, you told me to go back to Michael. You said that he might've grown up in California and might've changed. What was I supposed to say when you pretty much sent me on my way back to my ex? I wasn't going to beg you, Steven...if you'd wanted me you could've said."

"Seriously, Jackie?" Hyde leaned forward in his chair. "You're gonna make me the bad guy again? Tell me one thing, and tell me the truth...have you ever wished that baby in there was Kelso's?"

As he pointed at her stomach Jackie quickly placed a protective hand over it. She couldn't lie to him, no matter how much she wanted to.

Nodding a yes, her eyes filled with tears. "But only because it would've been easier. I knew he'd want to get back tog-"

"I don't need an explanation," Hyde spat out. "I just wanted your answer."

When he stood up and reached into his pocket for his keys, Jackie suddenly realised she too had a similar question for him.

"And what about you?" she asked, confident she knew the answer to the question she was about to ask. "Have you been wishing this baby was his?"

"What d'you think?" Hyde laughed a menacing laugh that made Jackie shiver. They'd gone from walking out of the school hand in hand to sitting there hating each other.

Today was not a good day.

"I think it'd be easier for you too if baby was Michael's. I think you blame me for losing your friends and ruining your life." Jackie scrunched the edge of the cot blanket in her hand as she waited for him to confirm what she had just said. He had been too cool about the pregnancy. He hadn't yelled or torn the basement to shreds. He'd taken it all in his stride but something had to give.

But right when it looked like Hyde was about to explode he let out a heavy sigh and sat down next to her.

"Jackie," he said calmly, placing his hand on her knee. "We both admit it woulda been easier if the kid was Kelso's but it's not and I've gotten used to the fact it's mine. You should too...at least the kid will have a brain-"

"Yeah, I had thought that." Jackie rubbed her sleeve under her nose and giggled. He was making jokes, the nastiness was over hopefully.

"Look, right now I don't give a shit about my friends. All I'm worried about is gettin' some money together and graduating, everything else can just wait."

"Including us..." Jackie whispered mostly to herself. It warmed her to know he was taking his impending fatherhood seriously and part of her knew he was right in not wanting to explore a possible relationship with her right now. The seventeen year old schoolgirl part of her however, wanted to cry and stomp her foot and tell him he didn't know what he was missing out on. She was pretty, and still slim, and would be the best girlfriend ever. But she left it. He didn't want her.

Hyde drew in a loud breath then exhaled before turning to look at her. "Jackie, can we just try to be friends right now? Us foolin' around is just gonna make things messy. If it doesn't work out then what's it gonna be like when the kid gets here?"

"I guess..."

Hyde dropped a small kiss on her head when he stood up, his keys jingling in his hand. "Good girl. Now I gotta go get the car before the others get here," he said walking to the door. "I'll drop you home when I get back okay?"

Jackie nodded and checked her watch. It was almost 3. Only a few minutes before the others arrived home from school but still 9 hours before her day from hell was officially over.

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 ** _A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews guys! I was stoked with the response for the last chapters! Hope you liked this one x_**


	8. Chapter 8

**_A/N: Okay so this chapter is actually half of a chapter. The whole chapter was just so long that I had to break it and the bit that I'm posting now is more the set up for the rest (in case you're wondering at the end what the point of it was lol). I don't know how it got so long, or why I just couldn't condense it more...but it is what it is and I'm clearly a rambler. Anyway, thanks again for the reviews guys, I love them!_**

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The morning of Christmas Eve brought with it the heavenly aroma of freshly baked shortbread and pine needles, along with the not so heavenly sound of Christmas carols blaring from the Forman's old record player. Hyde stretched out in his cot and chuckled. He'd come to appreciate just how much the holidays meant to the Formans - well, Kitty in particular, and so he usually tried not to ruin the magic by being too much of a Grinch. That would be a hard task this year though. This year getting through two days of all things green and red was the last thing he felt like doing. This year he had money issues, school issues, work issues, and now - thanks to Jackie's stunt yesterday - girl issues. But, due to the scents and sounds of a buzzing festive Forman family, he decided to shove all of his problems aside for the next couple of days and try to humour Kitty.

Lazily rolling out of bed he searched the floor for his cleanest jeans and froze when he heard a familiar laugh coming from the main room of the basement.

Kelso.

That was one problem he'd momentarily forgotten about.

And one problem that couldn't be easily avoided.

Hyde had figured their schedule would need adjusting over the holiday season but he hadn't managed to catch up with Eric to see if anything had been finalised. Now, on Christmas Eve, the curly haired father-to-be was confronted with a dilemma. Did he go out there, ask for a truce, and try to make the most of the holidays? Or, did he stay in his room and avoid confrontation but in the process piss off an already fuming Red and upset Kitty?

Shoving a sweater over his head Hyde decided it was a no brainer. He had to try and please Red and Kitty, whether it pissed Kelso off or not.

Shifting nervously from foot to foot he took a deep breath before stepping out into the basement. "Mornin'," he said, walking over to his usual seat.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Kelso stood up from the couch, dropping the string of popcorn he held in his hand. "I get holiday _days,_ you get the nights," he said adamantly.

"C'mon, Kelso," Eric said, looking slightly uncomfortable as he placed a tray of pop bottles on the freezer. "It's the holidays, dude, and Hyde lives here...where's he s'pose to go all day? It's freezing out there."

"Well he should'a thought about that before he decided to warm my girlfriend's bed when I was outta town," Kelso shot back, staring down at Hyde with wide eyes.

"She wasn't your girlfriend." Hyde had told Kelso that a thousand times since the truth had come out and each time Kelso had mumbled some lame excuse that she still sort of was. It was growing tiring.

"I'd only been gone two weeks before you started nailin' her-"

"No, two weeks after you left we started foolin' around, it was four weeks after you left that I started nailin' her-"

Donna stood up abruptly. "Enough!" she yelled, her hands slicing through the air in front of her. "I'm sick of this! Kelso-" she turned to look at him as he sat down, "-it's the holidays, you can't expect Hyde to find places to go all day. And Hyde," Donna said, now looking at him, "you gotta stop with the details, dude. None of us wanna know, least of all Kelso."

Hyde folded his arms in front of him and nodded. "Fine. As it's the festive season I'll be civil if he'll be civil."

"Great, thank you." Donna stared down at Kelso who was pouting like a child, his arms crossed defiantly. "And you, Kelso? Can you behave? The drama between you two is making all our lives miserable...can you let it go? Even just for the holidays?"

"But he did me wrong-"

"Yeah we know that," Eric said, sitting down on the arm of the chair next to Kelso. "And we all agree Hyde was a dick and totally broke bro code-" Hyde rolled his eyes and second guessed his decision to get out of bed "- but we've all been friends for years," Eric continued, "and it's time we all hung out again, like we used to. Let's enjoy the few months we have left before Hyde is raising Satan's spawn as we sit back and laugh."

Hyde suddenly felt a great urge to punch Eric, but he'd do that later, right then he had to try and put on a show of indifference.

"Yes, I agree," Fez said wistfully. "I miss us all hanging out together, eating candy, looking through nudey-"

"Okay little buddy!" Eric jumped in, breaking Fez's reverie. "That's enough reminiscing out of you for today. Now, are we all in agreement that we can play nicely for the next few days? Or do I have to get my mom down here and get her to have a talk to you guys? We all know how _completely_ level headed and rational she is right now."

Hyde grimaced. Between Jackie's pregnancy hormones and Kitty's menopause hormones he felt as though he was living in hormonal hell. If Kitty wasn't yelling, she was crying. And if she wasn't crying, she was drinking. Jackie, on the other hand, was usually crying and yelling at the same time, _or,_ as Hyde had discovered yesterday, was so hormonal she wanted to screw him. All he wanted today was some Yuletide peace and quiet. A day void of crazy women and their hormones. So it came as a welcome surprise when Kelso muttered 'fine' at the same time he did. Nobody needed Kitty and her hormones sorting out basement gang problems. Nobody.

"Great, we finally have a consensus!" Donna exclaimed, sitting back down on the couch. "So now that we're all friends again we can decide what we're gonna do today."

"Can't we just do what we do every Christmas Eve?" Hyde asked. "Sit here, watch TV, wait for the Forman's party to start, get Eric to steal the booze, then get drunk?"

Eric nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that sounds like it would take the least amount of effort and still equate to a vast amount of joy."

"And we know Hyde's all about avoiding any effort," Kelso quipped, "after all, he didn't go looking for a chick to knock up, he just sat here n waited for one to walk in."

Hyde rolled his eyes as an awkward silence fell over the basement.

"Kelso, are you gonna bang on about this all day?" he asked, turning to face the couch and it's occupants. "Coz if you are, I'm goin' back to bed."

"Don't let me stop you," Kelso shot back as he began threading more popcorn onto a piece of string.

"Blow this." Hyde stood up, done with Kelso, done with trying to make amends, done with Christmas. Lone circles and sleep was the safer option and, contrary to Eric's beliefs, required the least amount of effort.

"Seriously you two?" Donna said before Hyde could take a step. "It's been one minute since you agreed to a truce and I know, if you try, you can last longer than that."

"But he-"

Donna's eyes narrowed at Hyde. "Really, Hyde?" she said in a warning tone.

With a huff, he sat back down. "Fine."

As Hyde's attention turned to the TV and the lame Christmas cartoon that was playing he couldn't help but catch the warm smiles Donna and Eric exchanged. The smiles on his friends faces were ones of relief. Clearly it wasn't only Hyde who wanted peace for the holidays...Donna and Eric had obviously put it on their Christmas wish list too.

"Well anyway," Fez said out of nowhere, garnering everyone's attention. "I have been asked to go to the Christmas Eve dance tonight and I think this girl might be _the one._ "

"The one who what?" Donna asked, her eyebrow arched inquisitively.

"The one who you know," Fez nodded. "The one I _do it_ with."

Everyone's lips curved into half-smiles as they tried to stop themselves laughing at their friend's wild pipe dream. Fez had thought every girl who so much looked at him was 'the one', this chick surely wouldn't be any different.

"And how do you figure that, Fez?" Hyde asked.

Fez grinned proudly. "Because she is Kelly O'Brien and she does it with everyone," he replied.

"Yeah, everyone on the football team," said a bemused Eric. "She likes _footballers_ , Fez, not horny _foreign_ boys."

Fez stood up and walked to the freezer, grabbing himself a drink. "Then why," he started, as he popped open the lid of his cola, "did she ask me to go to the dance with her? Maybe she has realised some warm cocoa goodness beats out white meat and wants to take a sip?"

The penny dropped so loud in Hyde's head he could hear it. "Hold up," he said, eyeing Fez suspiciously. "So a super hot chick like Kelly, who could have any guy she wanted, asked you to the dance?"

Fez nodded proudly, one hand on his hip like he was some kind of superstar.

Hyde continued. "And what did you have to do for her?"

"Yeah, Fez?" Eric asked, somewhat suspicious himself. "How'd you make her go out with you?"

Fez was now looking decidedly uncomfortable and edging closer to the outside door. "I did..noth..nothing..."

"She didn't happen to want some information did she?" Hyde questioned. "Some information about a certain pregnant girl we know?"

Donna's eyes grew wide as she swung around to look at their foreign friend. "Fez! It wasn't you was it? You didn't tell everyone about Jackie did you?"

Fez gripped his bottle tightly as beads of sweat began dripping down his forehead. He couldn't handle a grilling, especially one delivered by Hyde _and_ Donna.

"She promised me she wouldn't tell anyone..." He was a bumbling idiot, scrambling for any excuse. "I thought she wanted to help Jackie...I thought they were friends...she said they -"

Just as Hyde stood up Fez dropped his bottle and ran for the door. Forgetting to grab his coat, the foreigner bolted up the stairs, leaving the door swinging in his wake.

"Idiot!" Hyde yelled, slamming the door after him. "I can't believe him, man!" he said to nobody in particular as he sat back down.

"Told you it wasn't me," Kelso proudly declared, looking straight at Donna.

"Well what was I supposed to think?" she said, shaking her head in disbelief. "You've hardly been the biggest supporter of this pregnancy. Why wouldn't I think you'd get off on humiliating Jackie."

"Um, because humiliating her means humiliating myself!" Kelso stated as though Donna should've known this already. "What does it say about me when my girlfriend gets knocked up by him." Kelso pointed a thumb over his shoulder at Hyde.

"Good question." Hyde nodded. "And she wasn't your girlfriend."

Before Kelso could open his mouth Donna opened hers. "God, Jackie must be a mess," she said, shaking her head slowly. "She was freaking out about everyone finding out and we were meant to have a plan in place before they did."

"Oh, don't worry," Kelso said casually. "Hyde took care of her...even held her hand as they walked outta school together."

Hyde shifted slightly in his seat. "She was cryin', man! What was I supposed to do?"

Kelso narrowed his eyes in Hyde's direction. "That's always your excuse right, Hyde? Jackie cried, so you took her to prom. Jackie cried, so you went n got arrested for her." Shaking his head he looked back at the TV before adding, "you always gotta be the hero. Always gotta try n look better than me."

"Well I never had to try very hard," Hyde scowled. "And at least I used the same excuse. What were your excuses for treatin' her like crap again? Oh, she's too pushy so I had to nail Pam Macy...she's too needy so I better nail Laurie...she wants to marry me so I better run to California. Pfft, you didn't need me to make you look like a moron, you did that all on your own."

Hyde was well and truly pissed off now, and not just with Kelso for harping on about Jackie. He was pissed off with himself too. Kelso's little reminder list had not only reminded him of all the things he had done for Jackie, but also of all the times she'd taken his help before running back to Kelso. As hard as it had been climbing off of her yesterday and denying his body of it's need for her, this little pow wow with Kelso had reassured him he'd done the right thing.

Jackie would always go back to Michael Kelso. She always had.

Hell, she'd told him yesterday she wished the baby was fuckin' Kelso's. Hyde's fist clenched at the memory.

"Enough you two," Donna growled. "What matters now is Jackie and how mortified she must be. I should probably go call her, she was asleep when I tried last night."

Before Donna could stand up Eric stopped her. "No need, she'll be here in a few hours, you can talk to her then."

Hyde's ears prickled. After yesterday's drama he hadn't counted on seeing Jackie today. She'd been quiet on the car ride back to her house and hadn't mentioned coming over anytime soon. He'd assumed she'd be too embarrassed and would show her face when she was over it. And truth be told, he needed bit of space from her. Things were getting murky between them. Lines were being crossed. Hands were being held.

He needed space from hormones and murky lines.

"Oh, great. What time's she coming?" Donna enquired.

"As crazy as this sounds," Eric said, flopping down on the chair Fez had so quickly vacated, "I am not Jackie Burkhart's personal assistant." The skinny boy's snarky comment earned him a furious stare from his girlfriend so he sweetly added, "All I know is my mom rang Pam Burkhart to invite them over tonight and I overheard something about Hyde picking Jackie up later."

"What?" Hyde's head shot up when he heard his driving services had been offered without his knowledge. "Since when am I Jackie's chauffeur?"

"And since when did your parents ask the Burkharts to their parties?" Donna added.

Eric looked at Hyde first and answered, "Since you knocked her up." He then looked at Donna and answered, "Since he knocked her up which, according to my mom, means they're now family."

Hyde's head fell back and he ran his hands over his head. Picking Jackie up wasn't space. Spending Christmas Eve with her wasn't space either.

"Looks like you got your hands full there, Hyde, with the _whole_ Burkhart family," Kelso mused gleefully, swinging his string of popcorn around in front of him. "Rather you than me."

"Whatever." Hyde stood up and began making his way up the stairs to track down Kitty. Menopause or no menopause, he had to know now what she'd gotten him into.

* * *

After pausing to check she'd made the right choice, Jackie's fingers dove into the box and pulled out a chocolate. Rosa was currently busy scouring the contents of Jackie's large wardrobe for the perfect dress so the brunette decided she didn't need to eat her treat in a ladylike manner, she could shove the whole thing in her mouth and enjoy it's deliciousness all in one go.

So she did.

Forgetting that certain Mexicans had eyes in the back of their heads.

"You gonna look like girl from that movie if you not careful, Miss. Jackie," Rosa growled, pushing the summer dresses to one side so she had better access to the winter ones.

"If you're referring to Violet Beauregarde just remember she got fat from chewing gum, not chocolate." Jackie pulled another chocolate out of the box and flopped back on her bed. "Stupid Violet, she was in a chocolate factory and chose to chew gum till she popped. Her basic disregard for the finer things in life, like chocolate, truly amazes me. Perhaps she was from the South?"

Rosa pulled a blue dress out of the closet and held it up. "Southern or no Southern, you still gonna look like her if you keep eating chocolate like that. You popping no good for baby."

Jackie shook her head at the dress and licked the melted chocolate off her thumb and finger. "I won't pop, Rosa. I'm too pretty for a fate so horrific-"

"You also say you too pretty for teenage pregnancy but-"

"Yeah, okay Rosa, I get it." Jackie put the lid back on the red box and threw it on the floor. "No more chocolates."

Truth be told Jackie didn't even feel like eating, but for some strange reason shoving food in her mouth had helped her forget that in approximately thirty minutes she would be seeing Hyde. Last night she'd convinced herself that what had happened yesterday, at school and in Hyde's bedroom, could be forgotten about for a few days. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were supposed to be spent with her parents and Rosa. People who loved her and didn't make her feel like crap...even though she had disappointed them by getting pregnant. But, thanks to Kitty and Pam, she was being forced against her will to go to the Forman's Christmas Eve party and act like everything was fine.

Jackie sighed loudly as she imagined the night ahead. Just the thought of chatting to Donna and working class old folk while Hyde avoided her had her reaching down to the floor for the chocolates.

"Miss Jackie..." Rosa warned just as Jackie's fingers found the box.

"Fine!" Jackie quickly released the box and sat up. "But I don't get why they're making me go, Rosa!" she whined. "Mom and daddy aren't even going, why would they make me? It's Christmas Eve, we should be together as a family."

"You weren't saying that last year when you climb out your window to meet that boy." Rosa held up a dark green dress with a low neck and mid length sleeves. It was elegant and tasteful mixed with a little bit of sexy.

Jackie nodded her head at Rosa's choice. "Well last year I wasn't a loser. Now the only friends I have all live in this house...not that you'd know, what with everyone in and out of it all the time all the time like it's freaking Grand Central Station."

"Miss Jackie." Rosa sighed as she forced Jackie to stand up and get into the dress. "You just upset 'cause curly hair boy blow you off. You need to forget boys now and look after that baby."

"You sound just like him," Jackie said, rolling her eyes. "I might be pregnant but I'm still seventeen and I still want a boyfriend and I want that boyfriend to be Steven. Why's he being so difficult? He hasn't even called me today to ask how his child is."

"Because he not a silly little girl and he probably busy," Rosa scolded holding up two silver earrings that would match Jackie's dress perfectly.

Jackie took the earrings and put them in her ears, checking her make up as she did so. She looked good, better than she'd done in months. Now that the morning sickness was gone colour had returned to her cheeks and the black rings had disappeared from under her eyes. Aside from the baby bump that was fairly visible in the tight dress she looked as great as she had over summer. A small smile appeared on he lips as she looked at her reflection. Perhaps once Hyde saw her he'd forget their argument and the things she'd said and find her as irresistible as he had back then. A glint flickered in her eye as she imagined Hyde checking her out.

A glint not unnoticed by a certain housekeeper. "No boys, Miss Jackie! Baby remember?"

"Geez, Rosa, why don't you go wrap me up some Christmas presents or something," Jackie said, swinging around. "And they better not be cookbooks like last year...I don't know why you think I need to learn to cook when I have you around."

Just then Jackie's bedroom door opened and Hyde stepped in.

"Treatin' the help with the courtesy and respect they deserve I see, Jackie," he sarcastically remarked as he brushed past her and sat at the end of her bed.

Jackie looked to Rosa with pleading eyes, disconcerted by Hyde's sudden presence.

"Oh Miss Jackie like to play around," Rosa chortled, glancing at Jackie sympathetically as she made her way to the door. "Always the kidder."

"Yes, Jackie's certainly a kidder," Hyde scoffed, twirling his keys around his index finger.

When the door closed Jackie turned to look at him. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked with an angry tone as she tried to cover up the embarrassment she felt. Usually she wouldn't care if people heard her bitch at Rosa but the fact that Hyde had witnessed her snottiness had her reeling. He'd always thought she was a stuck up bitch and ordering the help to wrap her up some presents was doing little to dispel that idea.

"Nothin'," Hyde answered. "You ready? It's startin' to get icy outside, I wanna get back."

"I never asked you to pick me up, Steven," Jackie said, searching her closet for the perfect coat to match her dress. "In fact, I didn't even want to come to the Forman's tonight."

"Then why are you comin'?" Hyde lay down on her bed and Jackie couldn't help but think back to the summer when he'd lay on that very bed. Those times he'd been wearing a whole lot less clothes and there had been a lot less distance between them. Her cheeks flushed at the thought and she quickly walked to her mirror.

"Because my mom's making me. But believe me, I'd much rather be going to the Radcliffe's party with them than eating homemade sandwiches while people scull beer straight from the bottle."

What was she doing? She was sabotaging herself now and the look of disdain on Hyde's face told her she was damn good at it.

Hyde scoffed. "I've seen you drink beer from a bottle, princess."

"When in Rome..." Jackie sing-songed.

His eyes narrowed as he stood up. "Go to the Radcliffe's. I'll tell Mrs. Forman you're sick."

Panic swept through Jackie and her reached out, grabbing Hyde's arm just as he reached the door. She didn't want to go the Forman's party because she didn't want to suffer Hyde's rejection but here she was almost forcing him to reject her. It was all too confusing.

"Sorry," she said, looking up at him. "I'll come."

"Don't bother."

"But it's Christmas Eve and I'm all dressed up." Jackie held her arms out, displaying Rosa's work. "I can't sit here all night by myself." _Even though I'm a complete bitch that probably deserves to,_ she thought.

"I can drop you with your parents if you need a ride."

Jackie shook her head. "No, I've been avoiding Mrs. Forman and she invited me so I should come. Besides, I kinda think my parents were happy that they didn't have to take me to the Radcliffe's." Jackie's eyes left Hyde's face and locked on the floor as she remembered how adamant her mother had been that she go to the Forman's and not with them to the Radcliffe's. Her parents were embarrassed of her. She was no longer their straight A daughter. They were no longer proud of her. "Can't be fun having your pregnant teenage daughter tagging along with you to society events," she said casually, as though it didn't hurt like hell.

Hyde cocked his head to the side and forced Jackie to meet his gaze, his face now softened a little. "Hey, I'm sure it wasn't like that," he remarked as if he'd read her thoughts. "They probably just figured you'd have a better time with your friends than their stuffy crowd."

Jackie smiled at his attempt to make her feel better but she knew her eyes were giving her away. "I don't care either way," she lied.

"You sure?"

"Course I'm sure," Jackie shrugged, trying hard to keep the tears from spilling. "Now Jenna Radcliffe will have the chance to be the prettiest girl at one of her parent's parties. I'm doing them all a favour by going to the Forman's."

Hyde grinned and gently pinched her cheek. "Always thinkin' of others, Jackie," he teased. "You're practically a saint."

"Aren't I though?" Jackie cringed, knowing Hyde had seen her tears, and was thankful he had pretended they didn't exist. She was tired of crying in front of him like a silly schoolgirl. "Just call me Saint Jackie."

"I said practically a saint, not a real Saint."

"Well I'll take practically a saint then."

"You would," Hyde smirked.

"I deserve sainthood after carrying your child," Jackie said, relieved at the friendly banter between them. "This job ain't easy you know." When the smile faded from Hyde's face and he looked at the door Jackie's stomach dropped. "Steven.." she said, touching his arm again. "What I said yesterday, about Michael and the baby...I don't still feel like that...I don't still wish he was the father. It was just someth-"

"Don't worry about it," Hyde said coolly, "It doesn't matter."

Jackie nervously placed her hand on Hyde's face, turning it slightly to look at her. "Yes it does, I don't want you to always think I'm looking at our child wishing he or she was Michaels."

Hyde shrugged. "Doesn't even matter if you do, coz it's not his."

"Well I just want you to know I won't be," Jackie said truthfully. It had taken months but Jackie was 99 percent sure she was finally over Michael Kelso. Watching him pick up 16 year olds at the Hub on a Friday night and play with slingshots on Saturday afternoons proved to her that he was a boy, not a man. Jackie and her baby needed a man now. One that cared for people and worked and wanted to provide for his family. And that man, she had recently decided, was standing right in front of her.

"Good to know," Hyde nodded, one corner of his mouth turning upwards.

Jackie smiled. "Guess we should get going then, huh? Lots of sandwiches to eat and bottles to drink out of waiting for us."

As Jackie followed Hyde out of her bedroom he suddenly stopped and turned around. "Hey, Jackie," he said.

"Yeah?"

"Jenna might be the prettiest girl at the Radcliffe's tonight, but you'll, ah, y'know, be the prettiest girl at the Forman's."

Jackie felt her cheeks flush and it took all she had not squeal in delight. Gripping her purse tightly she casually said, "Thank you, Steven, that's good to know. I just hope Fez doesn't drool all over my pretty dress."

"Well you won't have to worry 'bout Fez drool, he won't be there, he's goin' to the school dance."

"Really? With who?"

Jackie had forgotten all about the school dance, despite only yesterday morning being beyond excited about it. She loved school dances, and she especially loved showing everyone up at school dances with her pretty dresses and salon done hair. This year it just wasn't meant to be though. After yesterday's humiliation she'd decided she couldn't show her face at the dance and had shoved the red dress she'd bought especially for it back in it's box.

That was after vowing to herself that whoever blabbed would reap the wrath of a very hormonal Jackie Burkhart.

Hyde cleared his throat before mumbling, "Kelly O'Brien."

Jackie eyes widened at Hyde's revelation. "Kelly O'Brien? Why would the second most popular girl at school go with a _foreigner_ to the third most important social event of the school year?"

When Hyde raised an eyebrow Jackie's stomach dropped. That arched eyebrow had confirmed her suspicions. Fez was the traitorous backstabber she'd assumed he was.

"He didn't?" she whispered, gently rubbing the end of her necklace with her fingertips.

Hyde nodded. "He did."

Jackie closed her eyes and drew in a large breath. "Steven," she said as she exhaled. "I know we have a party to get to, but we have a stop to make on the way."


	9. Chapter 9

Hyde sat in the El Camino watching streams of badly dressed teenagers filter into the school gymnasium. It was 7 o'clock at night, on Christmas Eve no less, therefore he was under no obligation to be anywhere near school premises. But yet here he was.

Because of her.

"This better not take long," he said, wishing like hell he had a lazy beer stashed under the seat.

"It'll take as long as it takes."

"Jackie, you know I'm on thin ice with the Formans, I gotta get back to the party before they start wonderin' where I am."

"Yes, Steven, I know all that and I promise you we'll be there within the hour. This won't take long so stop worrying your pretty little head about it."

Hyde scoffed before reaching under his seat to check for certain that there were no cans or bottles rattling around under there. A normal school day sober was bad enough so he wasn't sure he could make it through even ten minutes of a school dance completely substance free. Especially when that school dance would be the first time Jackie's pregnancy and his impending fatherhood would be on full display. When all his fingertips found was old burger wrappers and an empty cigarette packet he sighed and returned to tapping his fingers on the steering wheel.

"This is gonna blow," he mumbled in resignation.

Jackie smiled and smoothed her hand along his forearm. "Blow? Oh I don't think so," she drawled. "Nothing is more fun than watching someone get their comeuppance, Steven. Especially when that someone is foreign with a great, big, fat, mouth."

Hyde chuckled at Jackie's determination to bring down Fez. "But haven't you heard that an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind? " he asked, looking back at the gymnasium wondering just what Jackie had in store for their friend.

"And haven't you heard that revenge is a dish best served publicly?" Jackie winked just as a car pulled up next to them, it's headlights illuminating the wicked glint in her eye. "Great! They're here!" she said, picking up her purse from the seat and moving to open the door. "Come on, Steven."

The sight of Eric, Donna and Kelso stepping out of the Vista Cruiser relaxed Hyde a little. At least now if he was going down for missing Kitty's party he was going down with friends.

"How'd you rope them into your plan?" he asked, surprised that she'd managed to hatch a revenge plot _and_ convince their unsocial friends to be a part of it in the space of 20 minutes.

Jackie shrugged. "Easy, I'm pregnant, beautiful, and have a shrill voice that commands attention. How could they say no?"

"Very true." Hyde nodded in agreement. The three reasons she had given were the very reasons he was currently on school grounds when he wasn't actually obligated to be. Donna and Kelso wouldn't have stood a chance against her. Eric, on the other hand, usually found saying no to Jackie extremely easy so his presence was surprising to say the least.

Once out of the car Jackie rushed up to Donna, linking her arm through the taller girls, leaving Hyde free to hang back a little with Eric and Kelso.

"Can't believe we're at fucking school, man," he moaned, shoving his hands in his jacket pocket. "We should be at your place, Forman, steadily gettin' drunker n drunker."

"You're telling me," Eric agreed. "Donna even made me change my pants...I was quite happy in my comfy Christmas pants but thanks to your girlfriend or baby mama or whatever the hell satan is to you, I'm here, in dress pants. Thanks for that Hyde."

"Yeah, thanks, Hyde," Kelso reiterated, "coz of you I'm missing the Pink Panther holiday special. You know I love that Panther."

"Kelso, it'll be replayed, catch it then."

Kelso looked at Hyde horrified. "Hyde, it's a _holiday_ special, it won't be replayed 'til next holidays, a whole year away. I've waited all week to see it n now I'm not even home to watch it."

"Go home then."

"But then I'll miss seeing what happens to Fez," Kelso said. "God, does everything have to be explained to you? If I'm home watching the Pink Panther I won't get to see what Jackie does to the little guy...I'll have to listen to you guys tell me about it but then I'll be annoyed coz I would'a missed seeing it for myself...so I had to come."

Hyde rolled his eyes and opened the gym door. "So you wanna be here, so stop your damn moaning."

"I am _moaning_ because I'm missing the Pink Panther."

"But you just said you wanted to come. "

"Yeah, but I'm still annoyed that I -"

"Kelso."

Kelso turned to look at Hyde as the three boys followed the girls into the foyer. "Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Fine!"

Once inside Hyde stood next to Jackie and lowered his head to her ear. "You sure you wanna go in there?" he softly said, aware of the stares they were getting even in the relatively quiet foyer. Before yesterday Jackie had done whatever she could to hide her swollen stomach but tonight, in her tight dress, there was no denying she was pregnant. People were gonna look. People were gonna stare. And Hyde wasn't sure he could deal with a crying Jackie tonight. He was, after all, still holding onto hope that Christmas would be drama free.

"Yes I'm sure." Jackie looked up at him, her face a picture of defiance. "Fez can't do what he did to me and get away with it. He was supposed to be my friend."

"Yeah, but yesterday you were bangn on about never comin' back to this place n here you are, stomach n all." Hyde nodded toward her belly earning him a furious glare.

"Well I don't care anymore," Jackie said. "All I care about is making that foreigner feel as shitty as I did yesterday."

Before Hyde could tell her again that this plan was crazy, that they didn't need the drama in their lives right now, Donna placed an arm around her small friend's shoulder and said, "Don't blame you midget, Fez was a real dillhole opening his mouth like that. I still can't believe he did it."

"I can," Eric chipped in with a grin. When everyone's eyes locked on him he added, "I mean come on...date with a hot chick, or keeping Jackie's sordid secret...who wouldn't do what Fez did?"

Hyde was about to tell Eric that he was a fucking dick before realising he didn't need to. Donna had this one.

And Eric knew it.

"Donna..." the skinny boy mumbled nervously. "I was joking...it was a joke..."

"Whatever, Eric," Donna thundered. "Just know that the Christmas present I was going to give you is no longer on offer. Perhaps you can gather up some more dirt on your friends and trade it in for hot dates instead."

Eric was scrambling on his feet, trying to magically pull the right words to say to Donna from thin air, and the sight was better than any frogging Hyde could have delivered.

He smiled as he watched Eric follow a furious redhead into the main room.

"Idiot," he said, shaking his head.

Jackie shrugged. "Oh it's just Eric being Eric, who cares?"

Hyde raised an eyebrow, surprised that Forman had not only avoided a shin kicking but also a verbal lashing from a hormonal Jackie.

"Steven," she said, looping her arm through his. "We have bigger fish to fry tonight remember? Or should I say foreigners to fry. We can leave Eric to Donna."

"I s'pose," Hyde agreed. "So we're doin' this then?" he added, looking nervously at the doors that would lead them to the hell that was high school dances.

"Sure are."

Once inside the poorly lit room Jackie led them to a small table in a corner. Had Hyde been prepared the table would've been perfect for some on-school-grounds liquor consumption but as he wasn't, he decided it was just as good for going incognito with his baby mama. The red strobe lights didn't quite reach their corner and as the buffet was on the other side of the room only the geeks were anywhere near that side of the room. They had made it in unnoticed and Hyde hoped it stayed that way.

"So, we dancing or what?" Kelso asked, running his thumbs around his waistband as he stared at the crowded dancefloor.

"Um, hell no," Hyde replied. Hot pokers in both eyes was a more likely option tonight.

"Well..." Jackie mused, looking out at all her ex-friends. "One dance couldn't hurt."

Hyde shot her a look of disgust. "Seriously, Jackie? We're not here to dance, man. We're here for Fez. In, then out. That's what you said."

"But I like this song." Her eyes were all puppy dog like and Hyde's disgust quickly evaporated as he took in the sight of her. God she was cute, and he was a guy after all. How could he not have noticed how beautiful she was tonight. But she was also still hung up on Kelso and had proved more than once that a whiney little child still lurked beneath her hot exterior so throwing his arms around her and carrying her to the dancefloor just wasn't an option. Not that he would've danced to a Boney M Christmas track anyway. Ten hot pokers in one eye was a more likely option.

"Of course you do," he stated with a nod of the head. "But we're here for one reason and one reason only, and that ain't dancin'."

When Jackie's face fell along with her shoulders Hyde nearly changed his mind. One dance wouldn't hurt, would it?

"I'll dance with you, Jackie."

Hyde's head shot up just as Kelso extended a hand to Jackie. When Jackie placed her own delicate hand in her ex's an unfamiliar feeling washed over Hyde and he didn't like it one bit. He felt sick to the stomach. Like both Jackie and Kelso were kicking their loved up feet right in his guts. What the fuck was wrong with him?

"Really, Michael?" the brunette beauty said as she stood up.

Kelso grinned. "Can't leave the prettiest girl here sittin' in the corner now can I?"

Before they could leave Hyde stood up. "Jackie," he said, trying hard to ignore the way her holding Kelso's hand made him feel. "What about this Fez thing?"

"We have ten minutes before it happens," she replied, looking at Hyde while Kelso began leading her away. "That's enough for _two_ dances...eeek!"

The delight on her face should've made Hyde feel good. She was happy in Kelso's arms which meant she wasn't in Hyde's cot trying to get him to have sex with her. He was off the hook. Free of Jackie drama. But watching Kelso twirl her around and around made Hyde wanna hurl. Part of him was in her...literally growing inside her. Technically, or so Hyde figured, she was his whether he wanted her or not. She was having his kid. Not Kelso's.

"Well this blows," Eric sighed plonking himself down in the seat next to Hyde.

Hyde folded his arms, never taking his eyes off Jackie and Kelso. "Knew it would."

"Man, Christmas was shaping up to be a good one this year," Eric rambled much to Hyde's annoyance. He didn't care about Eric crap right now, he cared that a slow song had started and Kelso now had an arm wrapped around Jackie. "Donna was happy which meant I was getting some good gifts if ya know what I mean," Eric said, elbowing Hyde in the side. "But now, thanks to this Jackie n Fez shit she's all mad at me and threatening to hold out until New Years... _New Years,_ Hyde...that's like a whole week away!"

"Yeah, I don't care," Hyde stated.

Eric picked up his glass of punch and swilled it around. "You don't care coz you don't know what being cut off is like, dude. You don't know what it's like to have something on tap all the time only to have it suddenly ripped away from you cold turkey."

"Um, I'd hardly call Donna puttin' out 'on tap', Forman," Hyde said, still watching a very cosy looking Kelso and Jackie on the dancefloor. "We all know she can go weeks without givin' it up."

"But it's _Christmas_ time...Christmas always made her happy and willing. And since she's been back from California she's been all over me. Things have been good. And now things are bad again...thanks to Jackie and Fez-"

"Jackie and Fez?" Donna's appearance at the table had gone unnoticed by Eric, but not by Hyde who had to smirk a little. "Things are _bad_ because you're an asshole! I don't know how you could even justify what Fez did to Jackie!"

Eric stood up to pull a seat out for his girlfriend but she ignored his gesture and sat down on the other side of the table. Her move annoyed Hyde who now could only see Kelso's back and none of Jackie. Damn redhead's.

"Donna, I wasn't justifying what Fez did, it was just a joke," Eric explained with far more hand gestures than Hyde thought necessary.

Donna narrowed her eyes and reached for Eric's drink. Yeah, Hyde thought, confiscating a man's non-alcoholic punch was really showing him.

"Well it wasn't funny, Eric," Donna said before taking a sip.

Hyde groaned loudly. "Fuck, man. I didn't come here to listen to you two argue n watch those two dance. If nothing happens soon I'm goin' home."

Donna turned around to see Kelso and Jackie slow dancing at the edge of the dancefloor. "Wow, now there's a sight I didn't expect to see tonight," she said. "Guess Kelso's over calling her a slut huh?"

"And moved right on to gropin' the hell out of her," Hyde scowled, not liking this new jealous feeling whatsoever.

"Someone jealous?" Donna asked, looking right at him.

Hyde re-folded his arms and leaned back in his seat. "No," he shot at her. "I'm bored and wanna get outta here. Can you go get 'em n tell 'em we wanna leave. None of these chicks are gonna hook up with me now they know I got a kid on the way so there's no point being here"

He hated that Donna could read him like a book despite the fact she'd never let him so much as kiss her. Nothing ever got past her and it annoyed the hell out of him. Guy friends were easy to fool, especially the guy friends Hyde had. But Donna, well she could see right through his 'whatevers' and nonchalance so he had to go that extra mile to deflect her attention which required exerting extra energy. And Hyde hated exerting extra energy.

"Yeah," Eric nodded his head. "Suck to be you for the next year or so."

Donna glared at Eric before looking back at Hyde. "Oh, so that's your problem? No girls to screw tonight? Nothing to do with the fact Kelso has his arms around the girl who's having your baby?"

Hyde shrugged. "Like I care what those two get up to. She's not my girlfriend, she can do what she likes."

"Whatever," Donna grinned. "Well I'm gonna go get them anyway and find out when this Fez thing is kicking off. I kinda wanna get home myself...there's only so much Christmas music I can handle before I wanna shoot myself."

The sense of relief Hyde felt when Donna scurried off to round up Kelso and Jackie was disconcerting. Why did it bother him so much that they danced together? Why did it bother him that he had driven Jackie to the school but she'd left him to go have fun with Kelso...the same Kelso that had only a couple of weeks ago called her a slut? It shouldn't have bothered him at all because he knew she'd always go back to her first love. None of it should have surprised him or bothered him.

But it did.

So when the trio returned to the table Hyde did his best to look like he didn't care. Some weed or alcohol would've helped with that act. Damn him for not being prepared.

"And Anna was whispering too so I just poked her in the back...teach her for whispering." Jackie sat down next to Hyde waffling on about bitches she'd encountered on the dance floor.

"Hmmm, a poke in the back, that'll _really_ teach her," Eric quipped.

Jackie flicked her hair off her shoulder and furrowed her brow. "Well if I did anything else I'd be kicked out of here. And anyway, girls fighting is just so tacky..."

"Says the girl who was rolling around on the basement floor with my sister."

Kelso grinned. "The way you tell it Forman makes it sound so hot."

Hyde momentarily forgot his urge to punch Kelso and grinned alongside him at the memory of Jackie kicking Laurie's ass. That had turned out to be a good day and probably the first day he'd realised Jackie was a pretty cool chick. He'd taught her Zen; she'd used it on Laurie; he'd let her join the circle. But she'd still ended up going back to Kelso.

"Ugh, sit down." Donna pulled Kelso down next to her and turned to Jackie. "You shouldn't even be thinking about fighting these girls Jackie," she said sternly. "You're pregnant."

Jackie smiled and looked down at her bump, stroking it gently. "Oh yeah, of course. Plus I'm in such a pretty dress, I wouldn't wanna ruin it." Suddenly she looked up at Donna with wide eyes. "But you're not in anything pretty, Donna!" she exclaimed. "You're in scruffy old jeans and a poor person's shirt...you can kick those girl's asses for me! Hmmmm -" she tapped her chin as she scanned the room, oblivious to the horrified expression on her friend's face, "- I say start with Kathy Stewart...she said I was having twins. _As if_ I look big enough to have two babies in here!"

"Jackie!" Donna cried. "I'm not kicking anyone's ass for you! And I'll have you know you only gave me ten minutes to get here so how the hell was I supposed to get changed-"

"In the car." Jackie shrugged.

Kelso ginned again. "Yeah, Big Red, you should've changed in the car."

"That's enough outta you," Eric said, sitting up trying hard to be a man but still being ignored by his girlfriend.

"I was not getting changed in the car," Donna stated, eyeing Kelso with disdain. "Anyway, you made us haul ass here, Jackie and so far all you've done is dance with Kelso. When is the Fez show gonna start? Is he even here?"

All eyes except Jackie's scanned the room for Fez. If he'd been there surely they would've seen him in all his polyester glory by now?

"Oh he's here all right," Jackie remarked.

"Where?" Eric asked, straining his neck to scour the room.

Jackie pointed in the direction of the DJ booth. To the right of the large black box was the table always reserved for the popular kids, aka the cheerleaders and the jocks, aka the Jackies. Sure enough, tucked in between Kelly O'Brien and her third best friend Suzy Newton, was a positively beaming Fez. Wearing his tightest blue shirt with the tackiest gold necklace Hyde had ever seen, the foreigner appeared to be having the time of his life. The jocks who milled around the table seemed to be leaving him alone and the girls looked as though every word he spoke dripped with gold. He was in Fez heaven. But Hyde knew his joy would be short lived.

"So what's gonna happen?" he asked Jackie without looking at her, scared that if he did the pangs of jealousy would derail his cool composure yet again.

"You'll see."

"God," Donna said quietly, still watching Fez from across the room. "I almost feel sorry for the guy...almost."

"Yeah, he's not gonna know what hit him," Jackie smiled before adding, "literally."

Just then everyone at Fez's table stood up and backed away. Along with the others Hyde scrambled to his feet to get a clear view of whatever ruckus was taking place over by the DJ booth. A flying handbag drew their attention to a short, round woman in what Hyde could only refer to as ' the official uniform of oppressed house servants'. Removing his shades to get a better look he caught a glimpse of the woman's face.

"Hold up," he said, placing a hand on Jackie's arm. "Isn't that...Rosa?"

Jackie nodded, never taking her eyes off of her maid who was bashing Fez with a sturdy leather handbag. "It sure is."

The commotion was enough for even the DJ to lose concentration and pretty soon the large gymnasium was silent, albeit for the sounds of a very upset Mexican lady, and all eyes were on her and the boy she was dragging out.

"You naughty boy!" she yelled, wringing Fez's ear. "You know you not allowed around American girls. Your wife waiting for you at home!"

Bent over in pain, Fez could do little but scamper behind the women berating him in Spanish as she dragged him through the crowd.

"Who are you?" he cried. "Why are you doing this?"

Rosa belted him again on the backside, but this time with her free hand. "Don't pretend you don't know me Fezuenalla! I your mama and you disobey me for the last time! You have bride to be since you 12 year old...you stay away from these girls."

"I do not know what you are talking about! Please let me go...my ear is hurting!" he pleaded as Rosa pulled him to the door.

"Your whole body be hurting when I get you home!" Rosa yelled back at him. "And do not forget you have to be at the airport in a few hours to clear the luggage off the last plane! Once you do that you have a lot of explaining to do to the poor girl sitting at home waiting for you!"

Hyde wasn't sure if Fez was actually crying or whether it was just the way his face had contorted from the pain and humiliation, but it didn't really matter at that moment. Jackie had got her revenge and it was near on a sure thing that Fez and his arranged marriage and crazy mother would be the talk of the school for the foreseeable future. The rest of the school looked shocked and almost embarrassed for the disco loving freak as Rosa kicked him out of the door, into the foyer, and into social oblivion. Any social credit that had been bestowed on him for outing Jackie was now gone.

When the music returned and everybody went back to enjoying their lame night the gang remained standing in their spots.

"Wow..." Eric said, folding his arms across his chest. "Jackie, in less than a minute you managed to officially cock-block Fez for the rest of his time in Point Place."

Jackie beamed proudly, still staring at the door. "I know, isn't it wonderful?"

"Wait, so Fez's real name is Fezuenalla?" Kelso asked, with a look of absolute confusion upon his face. "How did we not know that?"

When Jackie grabbed her purse and scuttled from the table Hyde quickly followed, leaving Donna to answer Kelso's stupid question. Why he was following her he didn't know. It might've been to watch her scream and yell at her maid thus cementing the image of her as a spoilt brat in his head; or it might have been to check that she didn't run into any trouble from the likes of Kathy in her travels. Whatever the reason was, when Hyde opened the door to the foyer and saw Jackie wrap her arms around Rosa's neck he was stunned. Quietly closing the door behind him, he silently stood and observed the exchange between Jackie and what he knew was her hired help with tremendous curiosity.

"Thank you so much, Rosa!" Jackie whispered quietly into the Mexican lady's ear. "You were perfect!"

Rosa giggled and placed her arms tightly around Jackie's waist. "I was wasn't I? That naughty little boy no mess with us again Miss Jackie!"

"Never again!" Jackie agreed. "I'm sorry you had to come out so late...I hope your family won't be mad."

"When I told them what that boy did to my Miss Jackie they all want to come and punch him in the nose!" Rosa stepped back and tucked a strand of hair behind Jackie's ear. "They no mind at all that I here with you."

Huh? An hour ago Jackie had been ordering Rosa to wrap up presents for her like the spoilt little girl he knew, or at least, _thought_ , she was. Now the two were hugging and talking like they cared for each other. Like they were friends even. Did Hyde have it wrong or was Jackie merely a queen of manipulation?

"Please thank them for me," Jackie said, squeezing Rosa's arms. Pulling at the white fabric of the maid's uniform Rosa was wearing she added, "Oh, and I'm sorry you had to wear this hideous thing, I know how much you hate it."

"I hate it when your mother make me wear it. For you, I wear it anytime."

Jackie grinned. "Well in that case..."

"No-" Rosa waved a stern finger in Jackie's face.

"Rosa I was kidding! You see, in America we have things called jokes...I say them n you laugh."

"Well I no laughing!" Rosa warned before her face twisted into a warm smile. "I must go now my darling-"

"But will I see you tomorrow? I know it's your day off but can you still drop by? I'll save you some food..."

"Miss Jackie, I can't tomorrow, I have my family and I need-"

Jackie's eyes widened. "Okay, then I'll come to your house like last year. I'll teach little Christa how to put make-up on again, she loved it when I showed her last time. I'll bring some food. It'll be fun."

Rosa's face fell and Hyde knew that soon so too would Jackie's. The whole scene was hard to watch; Jackie so desperate to hang on to someone who clearly adored her but was also paid to be in her life.

"Sweetheart," Rosa started, stroking Jackie's cheek. "We go to Chicago tomorrow. My Joachim's wife have baby, we go see them for Christmas. I come back in two days, okay? Then we eat and have fun."

Jackie's eyes fell to the floor. "Oh, okay...of course...you have to go and see the new baby. I'll see you in a couple days. I'm sure mom n dad have so many wonderful things planned for us."

Rosa nodded, more in sympathy than agreement and Hyde knew she believed Jackie's parents gave a shit about her as much as he did. "Yes, Miss Jackie, Mr. Jack and Mrs. Pamela will have lots of things planned." She kissed the top of Jackie's head. "I must go now. I see you soon. Bye my lovely."

"Bye, Rosa," Jackie said, hugging Rosa before reluctantly letting her go. "And Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas, darling," Rosa said as the door closed behind her.

Hyde waited a moment, unsure whether to go back into the dance or stay and check if Jackie was okay. God, today had put him in all kinds of weird places. This morning he'd been praying he didn't have to see the whiney brunette for at least a coupe of days. Then half n hour ago he'd been wanting to dance with her to a freaking Boney M song. Now, he had a cringe worthy desire to hold her and make sure she wasn't sad. How had a summer fling become this? How was she now his problem? And why the fuck did he feel as though she _was_ his problem?

Clearing his throat, Hyde stepped toward Jackie. Startled, she swung around, her sad face quickly changing when she saw him.

"Oh, Steven, hi," she smiled nervously.

"Hey," Hyde said, unsure whether to hug her, hold her hand, or tell her to toughen the hell up. "You okay?"

Jackie scrunched up her face as if to say 'of course I am, what a stupid question, I'm Jackie freakin' Burkhart' so Hyde decided to do nothing. If she wanted to avoid her issues he was just fine with it. Avoidance was something he'd been doing since he was a kid when teachers had started asking him why his mom never showed up to parent teacher conferences. He could easily aid Jackie in her avoidance strategies.

"Cool," he shrugged. "So you ready to get outta here now or what? Fez is a cryin' mess, Kelso's confused as hell, Eric n Donna are at it like cats n dogs...I think your work here is done."

To Hyde's surprise Jackie yawned, stretching her arms high in the air. Takedowns must be hard work for pregnant chicks, he figured.

"Yeah, my work here is done," she agreed, letting her eyes fall on his. God she was getting cuter by the minute. "On to the next party I guess."

"On to the next..." Hyde said, slipping a arm around Jackie's back and leading her out to the cold, winter's night.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Sorry this was so long! The crazy thing is that it's this long and I still had to cut part of it and throw it onto the next chapter! Oh my gosh...I need to stop drawing things out lol!**_

 _ **Thanks a trillion for the super cool, super encouraging reviews! I promise some good stuff is about to start happening (if I can start reigning in scenes somehow!) Thanks again x**_


	10. Chapter 10

Daylight was fading as Jackie drove across town, but the dusting of snow that had fallen that day glowed like a silver blanket over the parked cars that lined the streets. Jackie usually loved a white Christmas; the movies told her she should love White Christmases with all their images of cosied up families in front of open fireplaces. But this year a loving family drinking eggnog under the tree hadn't been her reality. This year, thanks to the damn snow, Jackie was creeping through town at a snail's pace wishing like hell her family was one of the ones from the movies.

Christmas Day at the Burkhart's hadn't been much fun at all. Sure Jackie had been spoiled rotten just like always but unlike other years there hadn't been a party or even a steady stream of visitors laden with more gifts. Instead, Jackie's favourite day of the year had consisted of just her and her parents and a whole lot of uneaten food. Presents had been opened early in the morning, like they always were, but instead of spending the day smoking cigars and playing his favourite Christmas records, Jack had immediately retreated to his office and hadn't come out since. Jackie had knocked several times trying to coax her father out with Christmas sweets but each time he had declined claiming Christmas wasn't a holiday for everybody, only those lazy enough to take it.

Pamela, on the other hand, got well and truly into the Christmas spirit...so much so that by lunchtime there weren't many Christmas spirits left. She had taught Jackie how to make Pina Coladas, Fluffy Ducks, Cosmopolitans and White and Black Russians, and while Jackie appreciated the gesture she was pretty sure there were maybe some other, more useful, tips Pam could be sharing right now, like how to change a nappy. By the time Pam had fallen asleep around 2 o'clock Jackie was done. Done with Christmas, done with her parents, done with being alone. So when Donna called telling her that Bob and Red had eaten themselves into a peaceful slumber and Kitty was getting ready for her yearly phone call to her sister, Jackie had gladly accepted her friends' invitation to go over.

Forgetting how much she hated driving in the snow.

It was with much relief then when Jackie finally pulled her father's Lincoln into a spot outside the Forman's house. Opening the door she braced herself for the icy blast she was sure would hit her. She had stupidly put her new mascara on, forgetting how cold winter night's never failed to make her eyes water thus ruining any attempt to pretty herself up for the father of her child. Pulling her thick woolly scarf up under eyes and her warm woolly hat down over her forehead, she got out of the car and carefully walked up the driveway. The snow squeaked under her boots and the wind howled around her but the thought of being in the Forman's cosy, movie-esque home warmed her insides and she quickened her pace.

Reaching the kitchen sliding door, the sight of Kitty perching herself on a stool next to the phone with an empty glass and a bottle of Kahlua made Jackie smile. Some things were just too predictable.

"Jackie!" Kitty cried, leaping off the stool and rushing to meet the brunette at the door. "What are you doing here, honey? It's snowing out there...did you drive here by yourself?"

Jackie unravelled her scarf and removed her hat, letting her curls tumble down over her shoulders. "It's fine, Mrs. Forman, it's just a few flurries, nothing major."

"But still, a girl in your condition shouldn't be out driving in this weather." Kitty took Jackie's winter woollies, hanging them on the hooks by the door. "Do your parents know you're out?"

Kicking her boots off, Jackie tried to hide the disappointment etched across her face. No her parents didn't know she was here. Her mother was passed out drunk and her dad simply didn't care where she was. Apparently Christmas Day at the Burkhart's was just like any other day.

"Yes they know and they're fine with it," she lied. "Dad checked the tyres before I left and he always makes sure the car is snow worthy so they knew I'd be safe."

"Oh, okay then," Kitty said, the lines of concern on her forehead slowly easing. "Well come and let me make you some warm hot chocolate before you go down to that basement. I've barely seen you lately. Steven said you were exhausted last night so we didn't get to see you at our party."

Jackie let Kitty lead her into the kitchen and her thoughts drifted to the previous night. After her splendid takedown of the foreigner, Jackie had hopped into Hyde's car and promptly fallen asleep. The next thing she'd known she was in Hyde's arms being carried up the stairs to her bedroom. She had sleepily pleaded with him to take her to the Formans' but he had refused, telling her she'd had enough excitement for one night. After laying her down on her bed and pulling the blankets up, he'd kissed her cheek, said goodbye, and told her to have sweet dreams...and she'd done just that.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Forman," Jackie said. "I really wanted to come but just couldn't seem to keep my eyes open. I've been getting like that a lot lately."

"That's pregnancy for you, one minute you're full of beans the next you're zapped and lying on the couch snoring like a sailor." Kitty stirred a saucepan of warm milk on the stove and smiled at Jackie. "I'm sure I slept for three months straight when I was having Eric. It wasn't like that with Laurie...with her I had so much energy I was like a little puppy, wanting to be on the go all the time! Maybe your tiredness means you're having a boy?"

Jackie considered Kitty's theory for a moment. "Mmmmm, maybe," she mused. "But I hope not, I really want a little girl."

"Why? Little boys are so lovely, and they never leave their mother's side. Not like girls. Girls just grow up to be spiteful young women who get themselves pregnant to lovely, innocent boys and then take off and only come back when they need money or somewhere to stay." The milk boiling over the pot interrupted Kitty's sudden outburst and she quickly removed it from the element. "Sorry, dear," she said, wiping a few tears from her eyes. "I just think you should be happy to be pregnant."

Jackie licked her lips, unsure of what to say to the older woman. It was only a few weeks ago that Kitty had discovered she wasn't expecting her miracle baby but was instead going through menopause. Hyde had suggested Jackie steer clear of her for a while, until she'd come to terms with the whole situation, and Jackie had followed his orders. But now she was stuck in the kitchen with an emotional Mrs. Forman, a pot of scolding hot milk, and not a lot to say to the older woman.

"Mrs. Forman," Jackie finally said, keeping her eyes locked on the cup of hot chocolate Kitty was making. "I'm really sorry to hear that you're barren now...I know you wanted another baby and it must be horrible to know you're too old to ever have another one."

Kitty's mouth fell open in shock but Jackie continued. "If it makes you feel any better you can babysit this baby anytime you want. I have a whole lot to get back to once it's out...school, cheerleading, y'know, all the things I'm missing out on while I'm a human incubator. So even though you won't have your own new baby just know that in a couple of months you can borrow mine anytime you want."

Kitty's face had turned an angry shade of red and when she forcefully handed Jackie the hot chocolate the younger girl quickly decided menopause must make women completely bonkers.

"Barren? Why you little-"

"Jackie! You're here!" interrupted Donna. Grabbing Jackie's hand the redhead pulled her out of the kitchen and out of Kitty's firing line. "Everyone's downstairs, come on."

"Wait, Donna!" Jackie said. "I was talking to Mrs. Forman before you rudely interrupted, I should go back in and thank her for the drink."

Donna stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to Jackie. "You weren't talking to her, Jackie, you were upsetting her. You were lucky she didn't throw that hot chocolate all over you."

"I was _not_ upsetting her, I was sympathising with her," Jackie stated. "You see I care about people and their feelings which is why I told Mrs. Forman she could babysit for me anytime she wanted. I'm trying to help."

Donna chuckled. "Oh, right...you're always thinkin' of others aren't you, Jackie? 'Cause allowing Kitty to babysit for you is an honour right? One that you wouldn't benefit tremendously from?"

"Oh, whatever you great big buffoon," Jackie scoffed, pushing past Donna and descending the stairs. "You are so annoying sometimes!" Donna's refusal to see the good in anything Jackie ever did or said annoyed her to no end so it was a great relief to see Hyde and Eric flipping cards in their usual spots in the basement. The feeling of relief though was fleeting when Jackie caught sight of the other boy sitting in the room.

"Ugh, what are _you_ doing here?" she scowled in Fez's direction. "Shouldn't you be handling luggage somewhere far, far away?"

"Why, that sounds like my sweet as a lemon little baby mama!" Hyde declared, turning to look at Jackie. His eyes were uncovered and sparkling, and his face was the most joyous she'd ever seen it. He looked truly happy to see her, so much so that she quickly forgot about Fez.

"Hi," she smiled as she sashayed over to Hyde's chair. "You look happy today."

"Of course I'm happy," Hyde said as though he wasn't the most cynical man in Point Place bar Red. "It's Christmas, I have beer, and now I have my baby."

When he reached out and placed both hands on Jackie's stomach she caught a whiff of the beer he had just spoken of.

"Oh yeah, Jackie..." Donna said, flopping herself down on the couch next to Eric. "Your baby daddy is wasted."

Jackie ignored her friend's remark and instead concentrated on the hands and face pressed against her belly. It was obvious Hyde was drunk but she didn't care, in fact, she liked drunk Hyde. Drunk Hyde was sweet, and playful, and affectionate...all the things sober Hyde struggled to be. As he mumbled to their baby through layers of fabric and skin it took all Jackie had not to let her fingers dive into his unruly hair and pull him closer.

The other occupants in the room however, didn't seem to appreciate the father/child moment of bonding.

Clearing his throat, Eric was the first one to speak. "You know we're here right, Hyde? I mean, you know we are all witnessing you talking to a stomach?"

"Hmm," began Fez, his brown eyes entranced at the sight of Hyde groping Jackie, "- while I do think pregnant women are beautiful I must say this does look a little disturbing. It's Jackie and Hyde...they are meant to hate each other."

Jackie's face shot around to look at Fez. He was a traitor, a blabbermouth, and as far as she was concerned he was lucky to even be in the same vicinity as her and the baby. Commenting on anything that remotely related to her was absolutely crossing a line that shouldn't be crossed until after he'd finished his probation.

"Shut up, Fez you big, fat secret teller!" Jackie ordered. "There is nothing disturbing about a father speaking to his child so you can just...just...suck a gumball and shut your mouth!"

A puzzled crease wrinkled Eric's forehead. "Well...I dunno, Jackie," he said dryly. "It kinda is disturbing when the father is Hyde and the kid technically looks like your stomach. Like, all we're seeing is you, no baby, no face, just you. So for those of us not involved in this creepiness it just looks like Hyde is groping you. Which is gross. And as my foreign friend said, disturbing."

Jackie arched her eyebrows but before she could speak she was suddenly pulled down onto Hyde's lap and into teenage heaven. When he wrapped one arm around her back and the other around her stomach she could barely keep from bursting with happiness. What did it matter that he was drunk? He was Hyde and she was sitting on his lap, in the basement, in front of three fourths of their friends.

"How's this for disturbing then, Forman," Hyde asked, clasping his hands together around Jackie's middle. "Enough to make you puke all that ham up?"

Eric blinked slowly and nodded his head. "Ah, yeah, I believe that'll do it."

"That's enough to bring up today's and yesterday's lunch," Donna agreed looking slightly nauseated.

With a surge of confidence, Jackie slid an arm around Hyde's neck and set her eyes on Fez. "What about you, Fez?" she asked. "Do you have anything to add?"

"No comment," Fez replied before shoving a candy cane in his mouth and sucking it hard.

"Sensible boy," Jackie said while her hand softly stroked Hyde's shoulder. It surprised her he hadn't shaken her touch away or come to his macho senses and pushed her off of his lap yet. She wasn't complaining though. It'd been months since she'd felt this wanted or protected by a guy... _this_ guy.

"Anyway, Jackie," Donna said, shifting her eyes from Hyde's hands to Jackie's face. "I'm gonna pretend you're not sitting on Hyde's lap and ask you how your Christmas was? Any fabulous presents we _so_ have to hear about?"

At the mention of presents Jackie promptly sat up straight, enthusiasm oozing from her pores. "Of course there were fabulous presents, I'm rich, aren't there always?" she declared with a proud smile. "Daddy gave me the thing I wanted most - money, but he tried to say it was for me _and_ the baby until I reminded him that the baby isn't even here yet so I shouldn't have to share."

"God forbid you would ever have to share," Eric mocked, rolling his eyes for a dramatic effect that Jackie chose to ignore.

"God forbid all right," Jackie nodded. "I'm already sharing my body with the kid, I shouldn't have to share my Christmas presents as well. Lucky my mom has a clue and bought a whole lot of stuff just for me. I got a gorgeous new suede coat with a fur trim, and some great new boots, and so much make-up...enough to make even you look you pretty, Donna -"

"Great," Donna sighed. "I can hardly wait for the makeover."

"Well I'm pleased someone got loads of presents this year," whined Eric, pulling at a loose piece of cotton on the arm of the couch. "'Cause I sure didn't."

"C'mon, Forman, you got a nice new raincoat," Hyde grinned. "That's like a fur trimmed suede coat...only it's ugly."

"And made out of polyester and nylon, ewww," Jackie shuddered.

"Well if you hadn't been such a dillhole last night you might've been given another present, Eric. But seeing as you were, you didn't," Donna announced, folding her arms.

Eric sighed in response to his girlfriend before turning to Hyde.

"Oh, Hyde," he smirked. "Seeing you in _your_ new raincoat the next time it rains will be gift enough for me. Which reminds me, I must make sure the camera has plenty of film in it to capture that moment."

Hyde leaned back in his chair, pulling Jackie flush against his chest, before saying, "Not happening, man, so save that film for the moment Red finds out you two are gettin' hitched."

Donna abruptly sat forward waving a warning finger at Hyde. "Sssh, Hyde!" she quietly ordered. "My dad's up there too y'know? The last thing we want is our parents finding out on Christmas Day! You gotta remember how Eric's report card ruined Thanksgiving...imagine the damage engagement news would do?"

"Aww, Donna, you really are delusional," Jackie said. "As long as big mouth over there knows your secret it's only a matter of time before the whole town does."

Before Fez could open his mouth in protest Jackie silenced him by narrowing her eyes in his direction forcing him to slump further into his chair and suck harder on his candy cane.

"He wouldn't dare," Donna slowly said, turning to look at her foreign friend. "Because if he did, last night would look like a damn picnic compared to what I'd do to him. Got it, Fez?"

Fez nodded, slowly pulling the sweet treat out of his mouth. "Got it, Donna," he assured her. "My lips are seals."

Jackie felt the rumble of Hyde's chuckle radiate through her back and she smiled. She still couldn't believe she was perched on his lap like a _girlfriend._ It was a Christmas miracle.

"Fez, man," Hyde said, pointing a wobbly hand at Fez. "How the hell are your lips seals? What the hell are you even talkin' about -"

"I am saying that I will not tell anyb -"

"Actually-" Hyde held a silencing hand up, "-I really don't give a crap." When he pat Jackie's thigh a couple of times she took it as her cue to stand up. The rush of cold that washed over her when her body separated from his felt worse than the icy air she'd braved to get there that evening and she desperately wanted to sit back down and keep him there forever. He was her Christmas movie. He was her Christmas miracle.

Even if he was an inebriated one.

"Right," he said, standing up and straightening out his t-shirt. "I got some stuff to sort in my room, so I'll catch you guys up in a bit." When he turned his back and started heading to his bedroom the butterflies that had filled Jackie's stomach fluttered off with him. Maybe he wasn't her miracle? Just a drunk guy who wanted to chat to a stomach. Utterly disheartened, Jackie barely heard him say, "You comin', Jackie?"

"Huh?" she mumbled, sitting back down in his warm chair.

"I said, are you comin'?" Hyde repeated.

"Um, EW!" cried Eric, swiftly standing up. "I cannot, I repeat, _cannot_ be down here for this-"

Hyde shook his head in annoyance. "It's nothin' like that ya big girl. I just gotta sort somethin' with Jackie." Turning to her, he said yet again, "you comin'?"

"Yeah, of course." Rushing to Hyde's room Jackie didn't dare chance at look at Donna. She knew her friend would be sporting a look of disapproval and she wasn't about to let her ruin the moment. Hyde was her baby's father and Jackie would do just about anything to bring them closer.

Once inside Hyde's shabby excuse of a room, Jackie took a seat on his cot and straightened her peasant top. "So, what's up?" she asked.

Hyde closed the door and walked over to the lounger, picking up a flat parcel. "Hey, ah, look I know I said I wasn't gonna get you anything for Christmas-"

"Yeah, you said you're saving all your money for the baby."

"Yeah." Hyde cleared his throat, his hands fidgeting almost nervously with the parcel. "But I wanted to give you something...actually, it's more for the baby-"

"You got me something?" Jackie didn't bother trying to hide her excitement. She had received numerous presents that day but one from Hyde meant more to her than all of the other ones put together.

"I said it's more for the baby."

Jackie shrugged, a sweet smile curving her lips. "Still a present."

"Weren't you just sayin' you didn't wanna share your presents with the kid?" Hyde smirked, losing his balance a little as he sat down on the lounger. "Maybe I should just hang on to this until it's here."

No way was Jackie waiting three months to see what Hyde had clumsily wrapped up for her and their baby. She was having it tonight.

"I was only kidding before," she said, sticking her hand out. "What's mine is our baby's. Pass it to me."

Hyde raised an eyebrow. "Pass it to me?"

"Pass it to me _please_ ," Jackie said impatiently.

When the thin, square parcel was put in her hands Jackie could tell it was an album. What she couldn't guess though, was what album it was. She wondered what song would make Hyde think of her and the baby so much that he would buy it and wrap it up as a gift. Giddy with memories of them making out to the Stones and Zeppelin, Jackie figured it had to be something from their summer soundtrack. It had to be something that he regarded as 'their song'.

Tearing open the brown paper, her heart dropped when she spotted dreary Bob Dylan and the equally dreary Suze Rotolo.

"A Bob Dylan album...and it's used," she said, doing little to conceal her disappointment. Bob Dylan meant nothing to her and she had no recollection of ever listening to him with Hyde either.

"Yeah, The Freewheelin' album, I want you to play it for the baby."

Jackie frowned, staring down at the half unwrapped present she didn't particularly want. "Um, why?" she asked.

"My mom used to play it a lot when I was a kid n I figure it was kinda like the steppin' stone - the basis - for my impeccable taste in music today." Hyde pointed at the record, raising an authoritative eyebrow. "That's the original album by the way, the one thing that was worth anything when she hightailed it outta here, so look after it. Don't go throwin' it on the ground or leavin' it in the sun. Put it in the sleeve when you're done."

Put it back in the sleeve when she was done? Done using it as a flat surface to paint her nails on, or done using it as a makeshift Frisbee? 'Cause she sure as hell wasn't playing it. Hyde had just given the mother of his child the most unromantic present in the world - something that reminded him of Edna freaking Hyde.

"So you're saying I have to play it?"

"Yeah," Hyde nodded. "The other day you said the kid can hear everythin' going on out here n I don't want him thinkin' The Captain and Tennille are cool or acceptable."

"Oh but a communist lesbian and a hippy are?" Jackie argued.

Hyde ran a hand through his curly hair, exhaling loudly. "Suze Rotolo is not a lesbian, Jackie. She dated Bob Dylan for years n she's married now...to a guy. And anyway, she doesn't even sing, she's just on the cover."

"She's way to into politics to be straight, Steven," Jackie shrugged, tossing the album next to her on the cot. "And what straight woman would choose that ensemble to wear on an album cover? It's so _blah_."

"Look, I don't give a crap about Suze Rotolo and what she's wearin', man," Hyde said, standing up to pick up the album. "Just promise me you'll look after it and at least play it a couple times a week to counteract the effect of all the disco shit I bet you're playin'."

Jackie watched as Hyde tore the last of the paper off the record before running his hand across the cover. His angry eyes, blue as the summer skies, softened as he looked at the hippy and the lesbian and Jackie finally realised just how much the present meant to him. It was all he had from his childhood. There were no silver Christening cups or spoons to pass on to their child, there were no favourite teddy bears, there were no photos from birthday parties. There was just an old record from the sixties and he was giving it to her.

"Does it have Blowin' in the Wind on it?" Jackie asked even though she already knew the answer.

Hyde nodded, still regarding the piece of his childhood in his hands.

"Oh great! I love that song!" Jackie lied. "It's like, the only Dylan song that doesn't bore me to tears, so I guess that's one track I can play for baby."

Shifting his eyes from the album to Jackie, a corner of Hyde's mouth turned upwards. "So you're gonna play it?"

Jackie stood up and grabbed her Christmas present, hugging it tight to her chest. "Yes, I'm gonna play it," she said, looking up at him. "I love it, Steven, thank you."

Standing on her tippy toes, Jackie pursed her lips to kiss Hyde on the cheek and very near collapsed when Hyde closed the distance between them and pressed his lips to hers. The force of his touch was so overwhelming, she involuntarily dropped his gift to the floor and urgently wrapped her arms around his neck. As his tongue parted her lips, Jackie's toes curled in her shoes as her heart thumped in her chest.

This was the moment she'd been waiting for.

Hyde had finally realised they were meant to be together.

Her eyes closed as his hand caressed her back, their baby the only thing in between them. Jackie wanted to savour this moment, just the three of them, together on Christmas Day. But the logical part of her brain, the annoying part that reminded her of Donna, wouldn't let her. Slowly pulling her lips away from his, she sighed.

"Steven, what are we doing?" she softly asked.

Cupping the back of her neck and pressing his forehead against hers, Hyde whispered, "Isn't it obvious?"

Jackie smiled, Hyde's trademark smirk was having that effect on her recently. "But only two days ago you were practically kicking me off your bed, and now we're...we're..." She paused, not quite sure what they were doing or _going_ to do.

"And that was a stupid thing for me to do." Hyde kissed the corner of her mouth before placing a kiss just under her ear. Goosebumps covered Jackie's flesh, even under her warm winter clothes, and a low groan escaped her lips at his touch. "I want you, Jackie," he murmured against her neck.

"But you're drunk, maybe you just want me coz you're drunk," Jackie whispered, wondering why the hell she was being so sensible when every bit of her just wanted to throw him down on the bed and strip him down.

Hyde held her gaze, his mouth turning up into a small smile. "I'm not that drunk."

Jackie raised her eyebrows in disagreement. The guy was practically swaying and hadn't worn his sunglasses all night...he was drunk.

Hyde shrugged and pulled her closer. "Okay, so I'm drunk, big deal. We've screwed plenty of times when we've both been wasted...what does it matter?"

Blinking slowly, Jackie cleared her throat. "Screwed plenty of times? Screwed? Really, Steven? Is that what we're gonna tell our child about his or her conception? That we s _crewed_?"

"Had sex, did it, bang -"

"Made love?" Jackie asked, knowing she was pushing it.

"You're pushin' it," Hyde grinned.

Jackie giggled and rolled her eyes, absentmindedly sliding her arms around Hyde's neck again. "Knew I was."

Tilting her head in anticipation, she waited for Hyde's lips to touch hers again. To hell with waiting for him to be sober. To hell with worrying about their friends in the next room. She was taking this moment and running with it. When Hyde suddenly released his hold on her and stepped away, Jackie almost fell in a heap on the ground. This couldn't be happening again? He had been perfect tonight, what with the present and the public display of affection and the 'I want you, Jackie'. She would not be content to leave it like this. This would not be the end.

"Steven..." Jackie tried to speak as Hyde stepped around her and moved toward the door, but her mouth was suddenly dry.

Clearly sensing Jackie's concern, Hyde turned around. "Don't panic, baby," he smirked. "Don't want any interruptions, y'know?" When he locked the bedroom door Jackie breathed an audible sigh of relief. He wasn't doing a runner.

He was staying right there with her.

It was a Christmas miracle.

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 _ **A/N: Sorry for the cliffhanger! I promise the next chapter won't be so long in coming and then you'll get to read Hyde's take on the whole scenario. Thank you so much for your reviews...every time I read a new one it really does give me a little kick toward my computer!**_

 _ **Special thanks to nannygirl for her suggestions for the story and for reading over my Kitty scene. She really is the Queen of Red & Kitty fanfics so I really appreciate her support.**_

 _ **New chapter will be up within the week! (Oh, and as I was so eager to post this I haven't properly checked it over so feel free to let me know about any spelling or grammatical errors)**_


	11. Chapter 11

_**A/N: No excuses for the very late update but just know I am very, very sorry. I feel so bad so am posting this chapter even though I'm not entirely happy with it. Hope you enjoy it anyway. Thanks so much for the reviews!**_

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Hyde winced at the sound of the ceramic cup being placed on the benchtop. He wanted coffee, no - _needed coffee -_ but the process of actually making a coffee was just too much for his swelled, dehydrated brain. _Where's a plastic spoon when you need one?,_ he wondered as he stirred the milk into the black liquid, mindful not to clank the teaspoon against the cup.

Sitting down at the kitchen table he was thankful he was alone. If Red was there he'd chastise Hyde for being a hungover mess, and if Kitty was there she'd be trying to fix him something to eat and there was no way Hyde's stomach was tolerating anything other than coffee for the next few hours. But while the thought of being yelled at or fed was intolerable, nothing would be worse than seeing Eric, Donna or Fez. They'd all witnessed him taking Jackie into his room the night before. And they could probably all guess what had happened in that room.

 _Damn it to hell!_

Sober Hyde hadn't meant for that to happen. Sober Hyde didn't want or need any more confusion in his fucked up excuse of a life. Sober Hyde didn't want the drama. But drunk Hyde - the one that had consumed 12 beers, 6 shots of Jack Daniels, and 2 stealthily obtained Kahlua and milks - had wanted Jackie more than anything. Drunk Hyde had wanted her the minute Fez had turned up complaining about the events that had taken place at the Christmas Eve dance. Drunk Hyde had wanted to see her so much he'd even suggested Donna call her and invite her over.

At the memory of the previous night, hungover Hyde sipped at his coffee, deciding drunk Hyde was such a moron. Sure Jackie was beautiful, and yes her carrying his child made her even more desirable, but there were still too many reasons why they _shouldn't_ be together; Kelso, their friends, their obvious class difference, her love of everything he hated...those things just couldn't be ignored.

As much as drunk Hyde wanted them to be.

The 'thump' of a hand pushing the kitchen door open caused Hyde's eyes to close to pain. _Why is everyone in this house so damn noisy,_ he asked himself.

"Well if it isn't everyone's favourite father-to-be," Eric exclaimed, heading straight for the pot of coffee. "Where's your little girlfriend this morning? I see your lap's empty..."

"Can it, Forman." Hyde rubbed his temples with his fingertips, willing his best friend to go back to wherever he came from. "I'm not in the mood."

"You were in the mood last night," said Eric, leaning back against the kitchen counter, a sly grin on his face. "For a lot of things I might add."

"I was drunk."

Eric chuckled, ignoring the scowl Hyde was directing at him. "The old 'I was drunk' excuse, huh? Not gonna cut it this time, Hyde. Not with us, and definitely not with Jackie. You can't sleep with a pregnant chick then fob her off with a lame excuse like that."

Eric wasn't saying anything Hyde didn't already know. He'd tossed and turned for hours that morning dreading his and Jackie's impending fallout. He knew she'd take their hook-up as a sign they were now boyfriend/girlfriend or something equally as lame, and she wasn't gonna like it when he broke the news to her that it was a mistake. He didn't do relationships. Especially not with unicorn loving cheerleaders.

"Don't ya think I know that already?" he sniped.

Eric's browed creased. "So you're not gonna fob her off?" he asked. "Does that mean you n her are -" Eric's eyes widened as he swallowed dramatically,"- in a _relationship_?"

" _No_ ," Hyde growled. "I don't _do_ relationships, I'm not, nor will I ever be, a pussy-whipped sucker like others I know." As Hyde spoke the words he so desperately wanted to believe, he couldn't shake the memories of the night before that were floating through his head. Memories of Jackie curled up in his arms, her bare skin pressed against his own, her soft lips against his. It'd felt right at the time, her being in his bed, they were having a kid together after all. But in the cold light of day reality had set in. They wouldn't work. No matter how much he wanted them to.

Sipping at his coffee, Eric smirked. "I may be a 'pussy-whipped sucker', as you so eloquently put it, but pretty soon you're gonna find yourself in a similar situation. Only you won't have the sex, the one thing that makes being whipped bearable. No, you'll just be runnin' round after Jackie and the kid, doing all the boring crap that Red said comes with fatherhood, without any of the benefits. So, yeah, whatever...carry on _not_ doing relationships my friend."

Hyde pondered his friends words, pulling at his beard as he did so. Eric was right; from here on in Hyde would always be at Jackie's beck and call, whether or not he was her boyfriend. But that was what being a father was all about. It was about taking care of your kid and the kid's mother and in Hyde's mind sex didn't even enter into the equation. Although it had last night...

"Forman, you have what, like five armpit hairs now, right?" Hyde said, standing to pour himself another coffee.

The smirk disappeared from Eric's face. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"What that means-" Hyde slapped Eric on the back, wincing again as the sudden movement reverberated through his hungover body, "- Is that you should leave the big boy stuff, like fatherhood and all that it entails, to us men, okay? You just worry about growin' bodily hair n sneakin' into the Pinciotti's on a school night."

"Ugh! Please don't talk about Eric and Donna doing it so early in the morning, it'll make me barf." Hyde and Eric turned around to see a rugged up, rosy cheeked Jackie pushing the sliding door closed. The disgusted look on her pink little face made Hyde smile.

"Morning, Jackie," he said without thinking.

Jackie's eyes, glassy from the cold outside, lit up as they met Hyde's. "Good morning, Steven. Sleep well?" She winked as she unravelled her scarf from around her neck.

Eric made a gagging sound and placed his cup in the sink. "Gross! Now I wanna barf. I'm leaving this unholy union behind, I heard enough last night," he exclaimed, making his way to the hallway.

"Oh, shut up, Eric," Jackie called after him. "Go play with your dolls downstairs and dream about having muscles as big as your GI Joe's."

"They're _not_ dolls, they're acti-"

"They're dolls, Forman," Hyde yelled down the staircase at his friend. "They're made of plastic n wear tiny clothes - they're dolls, man." Hyde slammed the basement door closed, holding the handle for a moment longer than he needed to. What was he gonna say to her? How was he gonna get through the morning without looking like an asshole?

Stepping back into the kitchen, the sight of Jackie in a pale pink, figure hugging pant suit caused Hyde to have a momentary change of heart. She was beautiful. No, she was more than beautiful. Stunning. If Hyde had to pick one word to describe Jackie sitting at the Forman's kitchen table on the morning after Christmas Day he would have to pick _stunning._ She was stunning and she was having his baby.

And she wanted _him._

Jackie Burkhart, with her perfect hair, perfect clothes, and perfect grades, wanted him. She could've had any guy in Point Place before she'd gotten pregnant. Hell, Hyde was fairly sure she still could get any guy she wanted. But last night she'd given herself to him.

And he'd loved every minute of it.

"What are you staring at?" Jackie smiled, glancing up from the Ladies Journal she was flicking through.

Despite his brain telling him not to, Hyde smiled back. "Nothin'," he said, walking over to the table and sitting down next to Jackie.

"Could'a fooled me," Jackie teased as she twirled strands of chocolate coloured hair around her finger.

She was too close, Hyde thought. She was too tempting. Sitting in such close proximity to her made remembering all the reasons why he shouldn't be with her too difficult. Only two days earlier he'd easily denied her advances and regurgitated all the excuses he'd memorized to soften the blow. But something changed when he saw her with Kelso at the school dance. A sense of possessiveness Hyde never knew he had in him took over and he couldn't shake it.

Folding his arms across his chest, he shrugged. "Whatever. Anyway, you never woke me when you left last night, I'm assuming you got home alright?"

Jackie flicked a page of the magazine and looked up. "Yeah I got home alright, even managed to sneak in without disturbing my parents."

"You should've woken me," Hyde said, not liking the thought of Jackie driving home in the snow. "I would've driven you."

Jackie raised her eyebrows and grinned. "In your state? I don't think so buddy. I think I was safer braving the snow on my own." She closed the magazine and pushed it to the side of the table. "And besides, how could I have woken you up...you looked too darn cute to disturb."

Before Hyde had a chance to run out of the room, or ramble off the list of reasons why they wouldn't work, Jackie leaned over and planted her lips on his. As she deepened the kiss Hyde told himself that he couldn't push her off, she was pregnant and he couldn't risk her falling in her condition. So instead he placed his hands either side of her waist and kissed her back.

Yeah, pushing pregnant chicks just wasn't his thing.

The touch of Jackie's hands on his chest increased Hyde's temperature instantly and he bit down softly on her lower lip. God, she drove him crazy. The desire he had for was infuriating and his lack of willpower was making him want to kick his own ass. As he moved his right hand up her waist to find her newly enlarged breasts a 'thump' stopped him in his tracks.

"What the fuck?!" he exclaimed, quickly pulling his hands away from Jackie's body.

Jackie didn't move an inch, only her eyes tilted up to gaze into Hyde's. "It's your spawn saying good morning," she said, just a hint of annoyance in her voice. Hyde guessed Jackie didn't much like being kicked from the inside, especially as she was used to being the deliverer of kicks.

"That felt fuckin' gross," Hyde said, keeping his hands firmly on his knees. "It didn't used to feel like that when it moved. You think it's alright in there?"

"Yes, Steven, it's fine. The baby's getting bigger now so the kicks are harder - God help me. Before they were just flutterings but now it's the real deal." Jackie wrapped her arms around Hyde's neck and tried to close the gap between them but Hyde wouldn't budge. "Steven," Jackie moaned, her eyes trying to meet his. "Give me another kiss..."

Hyde shook his head and put a hand on each of Jackie's arms, attempting to pull them from around his neck. "No way," he said, not at all surprised at the vice-like grip Jackie had on him, preventing him from escaping her clutches. "The kid kicked me, man. Clearly it doesn't want us together. It's like it knows I'm out here n knows what I was gonna do to you." Suddenly a wave of disgust shook Hyde's body and he slapped himself hard on the forehead. "Oh my god...the kid was in there last night...when we did it...fuck!"

Much to Hyde's relief Jackie let go of him, allowing him to stand up and begin pacing the kitchen in a fatherly fashion. However, much to his annoyance, she sat at the table giggling. Didn't she get that they'd probably fucked their child up before it was even born?

"What's so funny, Jackie?" Hyde asked in a clipped tone.

"You," she replied through giggles.

Hyde stopped pacing and looked down at the brunette. "And why am I so funny? Coz I just realised what we freakin' did last night?" Holding his stomach the disgust he felt in himself threatened to reveal itself. "God, I feel sick."

When he rushed to the kitchen sink and began dry heaving Jackie stood up and walked over to him. Rubbing his back she said, "Steven, do you honestly think pregnant women abstain from sex throughout their whole pregnancy?"

"I don't think about pregnant chicks n sex," he replied between heaves.

"I guess that's a good thing," Jackie mused, nodding her head. "But anyway, pregnant women have sex all the time so what we did last night is normal. It won't hurt the bab-"

Hyde stood up, his hands holding either side of the sink. "But you said it can hear everything goin' on out here...it would've heard _that_." The thought made him shudder and the feeling of Jackie's bump pressed up next to him made him shudder even more.

"Steven, I'm telling you, the baby is fine and if you'd read the books I'd given you you'd know that. Pregnant women have sex. My mom would've, your mom would've, God, even Mrs. Forman would've..."

"Mrs. Forman would've what?" At the sound of Kitty's voice Hyde and Jackie quickly froze. "I would've what?" Kitty asked again. She was standing in the doorway dressed in a winter coat and hat, her hands covered in bright pink mittens.

"You would've, aahhh," Hyde stuttered.

Jackie turned to the older woman. "You would've gone to parenting classes," she said matter-of-factly. "Y'know, when you were pregnant with Laurie and it was all new n all."

Kitty's look of confusion quickly changed to one of happiness. If there was one thing Hyde knew Kitty loved to talk about it was her pregnancies and her babies. "Why yes, Jackie, I did indeed. They were fabulous, taught me everything I needed to know. How to change nappies, how to bathe babies, how to test the temperature of the milk. I hope you two are planning on going?"

To Hyde's dismay Jackie looped an arm around his, a move Kitty clearly noticed and liked by the look of the smile that crept over her face.

"Yes of course we're going," Jackie stated. "I was just explaining to Steven here why it's so important we go and learn all those really interesting things you just talked about." The sarcasm in Jackie's voice didn't go unnoticed by Hyde, but it did by Kitty who was still staring at Jackie's arm and it's possessive hold on Hyde.

"Well good," she said, nodding her head. Tilting her head to look at the teenagers in her kitchen she quickly added, "Now, you two, you have to come out to the garage. Red and I have a surprise for you."

Jackie clapped her hands together and shot to the door. "Eekkk! I love surprises!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, while Hyde trailed behind her.

Once they were at the garage door Kitty told the teenagers to cover their eyes.

"This is stupid," Hyde mumbled, one hand over his eyes, the other holding Jackie's hand as Kitty led them into cold garage that smelled overwhelmingly like fresh paint.

"No, this is fun!" Jackie said, squeezing his hand.

"Right you two, stop right there," Kitty ordered. Hyde could almost see Kitty bouncing up and down in anticipation and he hoped like hell Jackie wouldn't ruin whatever surprise his foster parents had organised by being her usual ungrateful self. Her reaction to the album he'd given her for Christmas gave him some hope that she'd become a bit less materialist though. He'd half expected to wake up that morning and find it lying on his bedroom floor, but it wasn't. Maybe she was growing up and beginning to appreciate the sentimentality of gifts rather than their monetary value?

"Okay..." Kitty proceeded to do her best interpretation of a drumroll. "Open them!"

After inhaling a large breath Hyde opened his eyes and was met with a gruff looking Red Forman. The old man's arms were folded in his usual manner and he was standing behind a freshly painted baby's crib and what Hyde could only assume was a change table.

"Surprise!" Kitty said, jumping and clapping in her spot next to Hyde. "It's Eric's old crib and change table! Red got them down and painted them up for you. Don't they look beautiful? All ready to put your wee one in."

Hyde didn't move but examined the furniture from his standing position in the garage. The pieces were amazing. The white paint shone like snow and he could already picture his baby snuggled up in the tiny crib being rocked to sleep. He was pretty sure he wouldn't have had anything as nice to sleep in when he was a baby; Edna probably rocked him to sleep in a beer crate.

Through the lump forming in his throat, Hyde said, "Gee, thanks, Red. They look great."

Red shrugged. "Well what else did I have to do today but paint up old furniture for two dumbass teenagers who think they can be parents? It's not like I have a paper to read or TV to watch on my day off."

Kitty pat her husbands arm and giggled. "Oh, Red, don't be so silly." Turning to Hyde she added, "It was his idea you know, to paint them up nice for you."

"Yeah well Eric had bitten the crap out of them, they needed a good sanding and God forbid Steven here would have to do that...that's too much like hard work," Red grumbled, making eye contact with no one.

Hyde smiled, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Thanks, Red," he said sincerely. "They're awesome. I bet the kid will love 'em." Looking at Kitty he added, "And you too, Mrs. Forman, thanks. I know Eric n Laurie's old stuff means a lot to you so I promise we'll take real good care them."

Kitty rushed over and put her hands on Hyde's cheeks. "Oh I know you will. You're such a good boy!"

"Knock it off, Kitty," Red said, picking up a can of paint and putting it on the shelf. "Good boys don't get teenage girls pregnant. Good boys go to school then get decent paying jobs and leave home."

"Still planning on doin' all of that, Red," Hyde assured the older man.

"He sure is." Kitty grinned. "Our Steven is going to be a wonderful father and provider. Now, Jackie, you've been awfully quiet, what do you think of your surprise?" she asked, looking at Jackie.

The expression on Jackie's face spoke volumes but Hyde hoped against hope that she'd plaster a smile on her face and thank his foster parents for their kind gesture. Holding his breath he waited for her to speak.

"You really shouldn't have," she finally said.

Kitty smiled. "Oh but we wanted to. As we all know, Red and I have no use for these things anymore," she said, her smile fading. "We want you kids to use them. Better than them collecting dust in the basement."

Jackie's gaze shifted from the little crib to Kitty. "No, I mean you _really_ shouldn't have. We don't need these things, my mom's taking me shopping this week to buy everything we need. Save them for Eric or Laurie."

When tears sprang into Kitty's eyes, Hyde's heart plummeted to the floor. How could Jackie be so rude? How could she not take the gesture for what it was?

"Jackie," he said, turning to look at her. "We'll use these things, you can tell your mom she don't need to go n buy a crib and a change table."

Jackie looked up at Hyde, her brow furrowed. "But I want new things, Steven. These things are old and used. Our baby deserves everything new."

Although the words were spoken by Jackie, Hyde still felt shamed at hearing them and his brain worked overtime trying to figure out a way to salvage the moment.

"Well I'll have them in my room for when the baby stays here," he shrugged.

"But I want the baby to have new things here as well," Jackie argued.

A loud bang silenced the teenagers and Hyde looked over to see Red putting the cans of paint away on a shelf.

"If they're not good enough for you kids I'll put 'em back where they came from," the old man said gruffly. "Part time jobs, still in school, but still expect everything brand new...far cry from when I was a kid."

Before Red could pick up the crib Hyde grabbed it. "No, Red. I want it," he stammered, shocked when Kitty pulled the wooden object from his grip.

The older woman's face was red as tears streamed down her cheeks. Hyde couldn't have felt worse if he tried.

"If it's not good enough for Princess Jackie then I'm keeping it," Kitty said, holding the crib as Red put an arm around her.

"C'mon, Kitty," he said to his wife in a hushed tone. "Let's put these away for now and make you a cup of tea."

Kitty sniffled as she was led out of the garage, not once looking up at Hyde when he tried to stop her. "A cup of tea would be nice," she agreed, before the door closed leaving an irate Hyde alone with Jackie.

Still watching his foster parents from the garage door window Hyde pressed his fingers hard on the bridge of his nose. If he turned around he risked losing it with Jackie so his only option was leaving and leaving now. His heart was racing from a mixture of embarrassment and anger and he needed to calm the hell down before he had it out with the small brunette.

As he moved to open the door Jackie grabbed his hand.

"Not now, Jackie," he said through gritted teeth.

Squeezing herself between Hyde and the door, Jackie placed her hand on his chest. "Well that was awkward," she said with a small smile.

"Awkward?" Hyde took a deep breath then slowly exhaled, avoiding looking into Jackie's doe eyes. "That was way more than awkward."

"I'll say," Jackie agreed but probably not for the same reason as Hyde. "As if I'd want old stuff for my baby! My parents are rich, I don't need hand-me-down furniture. Gosh, I may be a teenage mom but it doesn't mean I'm desperate."

Removing Jackie's hand from his chest Hyde took a step back. "Oh no, you're not desperate," he spat at her. "But you are an ungrateful bitch." He knew as soon as the words escaped his lips that he'd gone too far but he wasn't gonna take them back. Well not right now anyway. She'd hurt two of the kindest, most generous people he knew and he wasn't sure he would ever forgive her for that.

Jackie gasped. "Steven! How could you call me that!"

Hyde shrugged and focused on the spindly branches he could see through the window over Jackie's shoulder. He couldn't, and wouldn't, look at her trembling bottom lip. "'Coz that's what you are."

"But...I wasn't trying to be mean. I was being honest, Steven. I'm sorry that it hurt them. But I don't want thei-"

"Maybe you didn't want 'em but I did!" Hyde said, his voice rising in anger. "That meant a lot to me, Jackie; them giving me their stuff. I'm not even their kid - this baby isn't even technically related to them - but they were willing to give us stuff that meant somethin' to them. And you ruined it!"

Dammit. Now she was crying. _Really_ crying. Her tears stung him a little but he was far more concerned about the woman crying inside than the spoiled girl crying in front of him. When he pushed past her and opened the door, Jackie grabbed his arm.

"Steven, I'm sorry!" she cried. "Where are you going?"

Not stopping, Hyde called back, "Away from you."


	12. Chapter 12

If there was one thing Jackie Burkhart thought she could never get sick of it was shopping. Once upon a time, not very long ago in fact, she had spent a whole day at the mall and hadn't grown tired or bored. Now, however, with the ever growing extra weight she was carrying around her middle and on her shoulders, she wanted nothing more than to go home and soak in a warm bubble bath. Much to her dismay it had become apparent that she could no longer shop like she used to.

" _Moooooom,_ " she moaned, trailing at least five steps behind the ever energized Pam Burkhart. "Are we nearly done? We've been here for hours."

Swinging her head around Pam smiled at her daughter. "I know, isn't it wonderful? After five days cooped up in that dreary ski cabin isn't it nice to finally be able to shop again? I'm not sure if it was the below zero temperatures making me tremble or shopping withdrawals!"

Jackie rolled her eyes and quickened her pace so that she was side by side with her mother. "Yeah, I missed the mall too, mom. But aren't we done now? My feet hurt and I just wanna go home. Surely we have everything we need for the baby?"

"Your daddy told us to buy whatever we wanted so that's what we're doing, Jackie," Pam said authoritatively. "I'm leaving for Brazil tomorrow remember? We won't be able to come again so we have to get it all done now." Stopping at an empty bench seat Pam dumped the shopping bags she was holding and pulled open her handbag. Jackie followed suit, dropping her bags next to Pam's, not wasting an opportunity to rest her tired feet.

When Pam pulled out the list of baby things they needed, Jackie sighed. "Please tell me there isn't much more on that thing?" she groaned, her head falling back on the seat. "I don't care if you're leaving tomorrow...if we've forgotten anything we'll just get it when you get back."

Pam looked over the notepad and down at her daughter, frowning. "What has gotten into you, darling?" she asked. "You've been in a grouch all week. You're not still upset about the Formans and their hand-me-downs are you? You need to forget about that and move on. It's not our fault poor people treasure their junk. We are Burkharts and Burkharts don't put their babies in second hand cribs."

Jackie sighed and looked away from her mother, deciding a woman clad in designer clothes topped off with a chinchilla fur coat had absolutely no idea what she was going through. Her actions at the Forman's over a week ago were tormenting her, fuelled by Hyde's refusal to even speak to her. Of course Jackie felt bad and wished she could take her hurtful words back but she couldn't help what came out of her mouth that day. She'd grown up believing she deserved the best and according to Pam the best equalled the most expensive. It was going to take more than a few months hanging around Hyde to change what she'd believed her whole life.

"Yes, mom, I am still upset about what I said to the Formans. Steven won't even speak to me."

Pam put the notepad back in her purse and pulled out a lipstick, carefully applying the pale pink shade to her full lips. "You talked to him last night didn't you?"

"Only to tell him what time our parenting classes start next week and the only reason he took the phone from Donna was because it was about the baby. He's dodged every other phonecall I've made since we've been away."

When Jackie's father had insisted they go on a family vacation to the cabin for New Years Jackie had whole heartedly agreed. Jack had told his precious daughter that she'd be missing four days of school and that had suited her just fine. She wasn't ready to immerse herself back into the catty world of high school just yet so a family vacation was just the excuse she needed to avoid her peers. She hadn't counted on Hyde doing some avoiding of his own though; namely every call she made bar the one last night just after they'd returned from the cabin.

"Did you tell him you were sorry?" Pam asked.

Jackie glared at her mother. "Of course I did! But as soon as I'd told him what time to meet me at the hospital next week he hung up. What more can I do?"

"I'll tell you what can do," Pam said, fluffing out her long mane before picking up a handful of shopping bags. "You can come with me to pick out a pram and you'll forget about that boy. Let him do the grovelling. Let him miss you. No man can resist a Burkhart for too long."

Reluctantly picking up her bags Jackie stood to follow her mother. "I hope you're right, mom," she mumbled, slowly putting one tired foot in front of the other. "But you don't know Steven like I do. The man would rather die than grovel, especially to a girl and especially when that girl was in the wrong to start with. I'm not holding my breath for him to come to me."

"Maybe you should try," Pam said softly, nudging Jackie in the side. "Because he's right over there and it looks like he's about to head over."

Jackie suddenly stopped walking and looked over to the entrance of the cinema. Sure enough, standing there dressed in a black sweatshirt and worn out jeans, was Steven Hyde. He nodded his head as if to say hello before casually strolling over to Jackie and Pam. Jackie's hands started to sweat in anticipation causing the bags to nearly slide to the ground. Composing herself, she smiled sweetly.

"Hi, Steven," she greeted him.

"Hey, Jackie," he said back before looking up at Pam. "Hi, Mrs. Burkhart."

Pam offered a bag cladded hand to him which he gently shook. "Call me Pam," she smiled.

In the bustling shopping complex the three stood in an awkward silence until Pam left under the guise of needing a new nail varnish and scampered away, leaving Hyde and Jackie alone. Jackie was grateful to her mother at first, before realising that even without her mother there Hyde still didn't seem to want to talk.

"So..." she started nervously, "how's school?"

"School's school," Hyde replied flatly, tucking his thumbs into the pockets of his jeans. "How was your trip?"

"Oh, it was nice. I couldn't ski though which was lame. I'm a great skier, I don't know why mom and daddy thought that I'd fall and hurt the baby. I haven't fallen off skis since I was six."

Hyde nodded his head, staring at her as she talked. "Probably for the best though, right?" he stated more so than asked.

"Yeah, I guess." Remembering the bags in her hands and the reason she was at the mall on a Friday afternoon, Jackie prepared herself. Talking about baby things should be something she and Hyde enjoyed together but after the fiasco at the Formans she wasn't sure how it would go down.

"Hey, so, mom and I spent the day shopping for the baby," Jackie informed him, holding up the shopping bags. "I think we have everything except the pram. We got babygrows, and cardigans, and sheets, and socks, and diapers, an-"

"Sounds cool," Hyde said mid sentence, clearly not interested in hearing a full item list, but smiling all the same.

Jackie smiled back at him. "What are you doing later? If you want you could come over and help me set up the nursery? Or you could come tomorrow if you already have plans today." When Hyde's cheeks flushed pink and he cleared his throat, Jackie nervously bit down on her bottom lip. She should've known he wouldn't want to hang out with her just yet. She should've known he had absolutely no interest in setting up their baby's bedroom with her; especially if the Forman's crib wasn't being put in there.

"Um, yeah, okay, sounds good." Hyde mouth crept into a half-smile before he turned around and glanced at the movie theatre. "So tomorrow then? Late morning?"

Jackie's shoulder's relaxed for the first time in a week and she was fairly sure she exhaled far too loudly, but she didn't care. Tomorrow would be spent with Hyde and she'd make sure he knew how sorry she was for upsetting Mrs. Forman.

"Yes, come over anytime," she said brightly. "I'll make us lun-"

Before Jackie could finish her sentence a female that could only be referred to as blonde skank appeared at Hyde's side holding two movie tickets. "Got'em," the skank said, waving the tickets in Hyde's face. "We better go, it's starting now and I still wanna get some popcorn."

Jackie swallowed hard as her shoulders tensed again and her vision became blurry. Through the swelling tears in her eyes she saw Hyde glance quickly at the skank and then back at Jackie. His mouth was open but no words were coming out. _He's lost for words...he doesn't know how to get himself out of this one,_ Jackie thought as the adrenaline pumped through her little body. It was a matter of fight or flight and this time she was choosing flight. She wasn't hanging around so half of Point Place could watch her watch the father of her baby go to a cosy film session with a slutty blonde. She was a Burkhart and she was walking out of this complex with her head held high.

Turning quickly on her Mary Janes, Jackie ignored Hyde's feeble attempt at calling her back.

He could go to hell. Him and his date.

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Hyde inhaled the last of his roach before throwing it on the ground and stomping it out with his boot. Semi-hidden between the huge concrete fence that kept the riff-raff off the Burkhart grounds and a tree, he was aware he looked shady as hell. Lucky for him no one in this part of town dared talk to him so no one had come close enough to smell the class c drug he'd just consumed in their fancy neighbourhood. They'd merely looked at him sideways as they drove by in their Rolls Royces and Lincolns, probably making a mental note to call the cops about the scruffy boy loitering around smoking something suspicious outside the Burkharts.

Upon remembering that rich bastards liked to call cops, Hyde decided to man up and go and see the girl that'd brought him to this side of town. After squeezing through the wrought iron gates he made his way up the long driveway, careful not to slip on the icy gravel.

 _Although_...Hyde thought as he neared the grand porch, if he slipped he could get lucky a break a bone. A broken arm or leg would mean a trip to the hospital with the tremendous bonus of not having to deal with Jackie today. There were two reasons fractured bones were more appealing than seeing his baby momma; the obvious one being he was still pissed as hell at her for being so rude to the Formans. It'd been over a week and he wasn't over it, probably because Kitty was still crying every time she walked into the basement and saw the furniture in the spot Red had placed it. Hyde silently cursed Jackie every single time his foster mother's eyes welled up and he wasn't sure he would ever forget the hurt she'd caused.

The second reason he liked the idea of hospital had to do with the awkward moment outside the cinema the previous night. It was obvious Raquel's sudden appearance hurt Jackie and while in his head he wasn't technically on a date he knew it would've looked like he was. Part of him wanted Jackie to hurt, maybe feel some of the pain Mrs. Forman was feeling. It could, after all knock her down a peg or two. But deep down Hyde knew it wasn't right. Deep down he knew he couldn't willingly hurt the person carrying his child, even though she deserved it. He had to tell her the truth. As embarrassing as it was.

Just as he went to ring the doorbell the door flew open, revealing a fur coat wearing, sun hat adorned Pamela Burkhart. Biting down on his tongue Hyde managed to stifle the laugh that so desperately wanted to escape his mouth. She looked a picture; dressed for winter and summer at the same damn time.

"Hi, Mrs. Burkhart," he grinned before noticing the luggage she was struggling to push out the door.

Pam didn't look up as she used her heel clad foot to kick a brown leather case onto the porch. "I told you to call me Pam," she said. "And hello."

Hyde reached past her and picked up the last two bags. "Goin' somewhere?" he asked as if it weren't freaking obvious.

"I'm off to Fortaleza," Pam answered, standing up the bags she'd pushed and kicked and assembling them in a neat row. "That's in Brazil you know. The beaches are to die for."

Hyde nodded. "Explains the hat then."

"Couldn't have it getting squashed in my bag. It's a Henry Pollak...very expensive, very rare."

"Very floppy," Hyde smirked. "So, how long you gone for?" It surprised Hyde that Pam was leaving so far into Jackie's pregnancy, not that he could really talk; Edna hadn't even bothered sticking around to see him through high school. He'd just assumed though that mothers would want to be around when their daughters had babies. But then again Pam wasn't someone he'd quickly label maternal. She was no Kitty Forman.

Pam checked her watch and impatiently tapped her foot, checking the driveway every few seconds. "A few weeks, maybe a month," she shrugged. "I hate winter, it dries out my skin completely. I need to be somewhere hot, where I can swim and sunbathe and drink cocktails by the pool. Wisconsin just can't give me that at this time of year. But Beira Mar Ave can."

"Guess so," Hyde agreed not knowing what the hell she was talking about. "So I'll see you in a month then, provided the snows melted of course."

Pam's face lit up as a cab stopped at the gates. "Yes, yes you will," she mumbled, tossing her handbag over her shoulder. When Hyde bid a casual goodbye and stepped inside Pam abruptly stopped him. "Steven, wait," she ordered.

"What's up?"

"Look, I know some people think I shouldn't be going away right now, and by some people I mean my husband. But me and winter just aren't a good fit-"

"So you said."

"Yes...now I will be back before the baby's born but I just want to know that in the mean time you'll take care of my daughter for me? Things may not be great between you two right now but I need to know you'll care for her, she is beautiful after all."

Hyde chuckled, forcing himself not to roll his eyes. "Yeah, I'll watch out for her," he assured Pam. "But not coz she's beautiful, I'll do it coz she's havin' my kid."

"Thank you." Pam smiled and rubbed Hyde's shoulder. Turning to look at the cab driver who was still fumbling around trying to open the gates, she added, "God, some people are hopeless! How hard is it to open a damn gate?"

"Not very hard for me," Hyde grinned.

Pam raised an eyebrow. "So I remember." Upon seeing her cab finally make it's way up the driveway she picked up a suitcase and flashed the biggest smile Hyde had ever seen. That woman wanted outta here. "Well I'm off," she said walking down the steps. "Look after my girl and I'll see you when I'm nice and tanned. Tchau!"

Hyde chuckled to himself. "Uh, bye?" he said before walking inside and closing the door.

The house was quiet at first. No lame Jackie music, no shriek as she ran for him holding a frying pan. There was just silence and Hyde found that silence disconcerting. What if she was in her room crying about her mother leaving, or even worse, crying over him. The half a joint he smoked ten minutes ago wasn't gonna see him through an afternoon of comforting Jackie. All he could deal with today was a five minute screaming match about the movies followed by two hours max setting up the nursery. That was it.

When a childish, girly laugh wafted down the staircase Hyde relaxed. Laughs meant happiness and that suited his current buzz just fine. He walked up the stairs toward the laughter feeling a little lighter. Jackie couldn't be mad about Raquel, not if she was as happy as she sounded. Bypassing her bedroom toward the room he knew the Burkharts had set aside as a nursery, Hyde was stopped by the sound of another childish laugh. A laugh he knew well.

A laugh he fucking hated right now.

Bracing himself, he turned into the room.

"What's up, Kelso?" Hyde said, leaning against the doorframe, his clenched fists concealed in his jacket pockets.

"Hyde, my man, how's it going?"

Hyde stared down at Kelso - who was sitting on his knees with thin pieces of wood scattered around him- fairly certain that if looks could kill his oldest friend would've died right then.

"It's goin'," he mumbled. Looking up he saw Jackie standing next to a white chest of drawers. She was pulling baby clothes out of plastic bags, using her teeth to break the little plastic tie that connected the price tag to the garment. "What are you two up to?"

Kelso grinned, holding up a booklet. "We're getting the nursery ready. Can you believe how big this instruction manual is for a thing that a tiny baby's gonna sleep in? It shouldn't be that hard, dude. It shouldn't need all these instructions."

Hyde raised his eyebrows and looked at Jackie. "I thought we were gonna do this?"

"We were, but then I figured you'd probably have sluts to hang out with so Michael offered to help me," Jackie answered coldly. She had barely looked at Hyde, her focus firmly on the clothes in front of her.

"I told you I'd come n I came. Kelso can go now."

"Uh-uh," Kelso shook his head. "I started this n I'm gonna finish it. I love building stuff."

Hyde's fist clenched tighter in his pocket. Of all the people that had to be there helping Jackie it _had_ to be Kelso. Donna or Fez Hyde could've understood. Despite Fez's recent indiscretion Hyde knew Jackie still valued his opinion on girly matters like clothes and decorating bedrooms and crap. And Donna, well even though she wasn't a girly-girl like Jackie she was still a girl and Hyde knew girls like doing crap together so it would've made sense for her to be there.

But Kelso? There was only one reason that moron was there and that was to cause trouble. A month ago he wasn't even talking to Jackie but now, here he was helping her do something that Hyde should be helping her with. Baby stuff was Hyde's domain, not fucking Kelso's, and by the smirk on the pretty boy's face he knew that as well as Hyde did.

"Yeah, Michael loves building stuff so he's staying." Jackie picked up another pile of clothes, placing them on top of the dresser.

Walking further into the room, Hyde snatched the instruction manual from Kelso's hand. "Kelso can't build anything. The guy's nailed his own finger to a table before. I'm not trusting him to build anything that my kid's gonna sit on, sleep in, or be around."

Kelso held up a finger and examined it. "He's right, I did nail my finger to a table once, still got the scar see." When he showed Jackie his finger she scoffed.

"Lucky he won't be hammering anything then. Everything's done with screws and a screwdriver."

This time Hyde scoffed, slapping Kelso on the head with the manual, wishing the paper was brick "And we all know how much Kelso likes screwing."

"Right again, my friend." Kelso grinned goofily. "I do like doing that. But right now my aim is to get all this baby stuff set up. Ain't that right, Jackie?"

"That's right, Michael. So, Steven, you can just leave," she said, ripping open a plastic bag containing baby singlets. "We don't need or want you here. So go."

Hyde narrowed his eyes as the feeling of rejection he'd been hoping to avoid settled deep in his mind. He shouldn't care that Jackie didn't want him there. Hell, he didn't really even want to be there.

But he was.

He was there, at Jackie's house, watching Michael fucking Kelso put together furniture for _his_ kid. He knew this moment would come eventually; the moment when Jackie pushed him aside and let Kelso creep back into her life. He just didn't think it'd be like this or hurt so bad.

Clearing his throat and taking a deep breath he said, "Jackie, can we just talk? In your room?"

"I'm busy," she replied haughtily.

"Please?"

Picking up a laundry hamper filled with baby clothes Jackie walked toward him, stopping between him and Kelso. "I've been trying to talk to you for a week, Steven, and you wouldn't hear me out. Why should I bother listening to what you have to say now? You're only gonna make up some reason why it's my fault you went on a date with the skank. You'll blame me like you always do and I don't wanna hear it." She pushed past him, the plastic edge of the hamper digging into Hyde's side. "Excuse me," she mumbled quietly, heading out of the room.

Hyde followed quickly behind her, ignoring the sniggers coming from the moron on the floor. "Jackie wait." The little brunette was walking so quickly down the hallway Hyde had to jog to keep up. "Jackie, can't we just talk about this?" he asked before she reached the stairs. "Bringing Kelso here just to fuck me off is really immature."

Jackie stopped, placing the laundry basket down at the top of the staircase. "Oh, so I'm immature?"

Hyde swallowed hard as Jackie's blue and green mismatched eyes pierced right into him. They were so prominent today, probably, Hyde concluded, because her hair was all swept up in a loose bun leaving no chocolate coloured curls to stare at, only big angry eyes. Deciding to focus only on her nose Hyde went to speak but before he could tell Jackie that she was, indeed, immature, she was flapping her trap again. "No, no, no, Steven," she protested waving her index finger in his face. "Immature is refusing to speak to someone for days on end. Immature is being unwilling to let them explain themselv-"

"Umm, hate to interrupt your speech there, Jackie, but your point has so many holes in it we could chuck it on a hoop and call a basketball net."

Jackie huffed loudly and put her hands on her hips. "God, you're so arrogant!" she exclaimed. "My point is that you wouldn't talk to me for days but here you are expecting me to hear you out! Steven, I slept with you Christmas night and the very next day you call me a bitch and stopped speaking to me. Then, when I finally do see you, you're on a freakin' date with a girl who looks like she's the property of a biker named Road Kill!"

"It wasn't a date." Hyde rolled his eyes. "And you know why I was mad with you, you upset the Formans, man!"

"I said I was sorry," Jackie said, looking remarkably remorseful for someone who was usually so callous. "But I didn't mean to hurt them. It wasn't intentional."

"Intentional or not, what you said was fucking rude."

The tone of Hyde's voice must've irked Jackie because all of a sudden her apologetic face was gone and she was back to being wild. "No, what you did was rude, sleeping with me then going on a date with someone else. You're the bad guy here so stop trying to pin it on me!" Picking up the laundry Jackie stomped down the stairs. "Just leave!" she yelled back at Hyde who was taking his time going down.

When Jackie was safely at the bottom, Hyde tried again. "Jackie, I wasn't technically on a date-"

"Were you at the movies?" she asked heading to the laundry room.

"Yeah."

"Were you with a girl who wasn't related to you and who wasn't the girlfriend of a close friend of yours?"

"Yeah."

"Did you pay for her ticket?"

Hyde sighed. He was screwed. "Yip."

Tossing the hamper next to the washing machine and turning around, Jackie said, "Then you were on a date, Steven."

"Let me expl-"

A small hand in front of Hyde's face silenced him. "I don't want to hear it right now. Steven, I'm sorry...really sorry, for what I said to Mr. and Mrs. Forman but you know what? I'm not as sorry about that as I am about sleeping with you again." Jackie's eyes glistened and Hyde knew she was close to tears. He watched as she moved the hand in his face to rest on her belly. He'd missed touching that belly but he wasn't gonna risk a shin kicking by touching it now. "At the end of summer, when you told me we had to end our fling, I was hurt, Steven. I kinda thought you liked me but then I realised you were probably just using me-"

"Jackie," Hyde said quietly, "I wasn't using you-"

"Ssshh, let me finish. I put you out of my head, told myself I was better off with Michael, convinced myself that the idea of you and me together was a stupid one. But then this happened -" She gazed down at her rounded stomach, gently rubbing her hand around it. " - and sure, at first I was devastated thinking there was no way you I could be friends, let alone co-parent a child together. But then your nice guy side came out again...the one I saw last year when I found out about Michael n Laurie, the one that went to jail for me, the one I saw everyday over summer -"

Hyde shifted on his feet and folded his arms across his chest, preparing himself for what was coming.

" - When you came on to me last week I thought that was it. I thought you'd finally realised we could work but then you go and date a tramp. I'm having your baby, Steven...do you know how much it hurt seeing you with someone else?"

"About as much as it hurts watchin' _your ex-boyfriend_ put my kid's furniture together."

"He's my friend."

"Whatever." Hyde shrugged. He felt like crap so he had to do what he did best, act like he didn't give a crap. "There'll always be somethin' between you two. I'm just pleased I didn't get too involved with you to care."

Jackie's eyes widened before narrowing again. "Oh really?"

"Really." Hyde nodded.

"Well if you don't care," Jackie started, as she walked to the front door. "You won't mind leaving then."

Hyde opened the door, careful not to pull it too hard and hit Jackie's stomach. "Fine." There was no point trying to explain anything to her today, she was too upset to even try and listen. He'd give her some time to cool off and he'd give himself some time to cool off too while he was at it. Then maybe they could talk.

"Guess I'll see ya at parenting class on Wednesday?" he asked, stepping out into the cold.

"Guess so."

Walking down the driveway Hyde waited for the inevitable slam of the door and was surprised when he didn't hear it. He felt awkward knowing Jackie was watching him so he kept his head down and his hands in his pockets, anxious to get the hell home.

"Steven," Jackie called out, prompting him to turn around. "I never thought it would turn out like this y'know? These last few months I thought we'd grown closer...now we're not even friends."

He wanted to say something but what was there to say? _We would be close if you didn't act like such a child? We could be close if you grew up a little?_ Or maybe he could admit that if he wasn't such a paranoid jerk they'd possibly stand a chance. Hyde wasn't ready to say any of those things so he shrugged instead and carried on toward home.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Huge thanks to my un-official beta 107derwent for her help on this chapter. She's a star! And thank you to those of you who have reviewed, I really do appreciate it and love to hear your thoughts._**


	13. Chapter 13

_The Following Wednesday_

The final bell of the school day rang out prompting Hyde to slam shut his folder, gather his belongings, and attempt to push past the twenty or so other kids all scampering to the door.

"Mr. Hyde," a voice called out, barely audible above the noise of teenagers eager for their freedom.

Hyde had heard Mr. Morrison, but chose to ignore him. The final bell signalled the end of the teacher's reign therefore if the guy had anything he needed to discuss he'd have to try and track Hyde down tomorrow when he had the authority to do so.

Before Hyde could reach the door, his history teacher tried again to stop him. "Hyde," he said, this time moving to stop him with a firm hand on Hyde's shoulder. "Can I please see you for five minutes?"

Benny, a tall overweight jock whose letterman jacket was the only thing that saved him from getting regular beat downs from the other jocks, swung around so his chest was right in Hyde's face. "Mr. Morrison," he started, slimy grin on his red, chubby face, "Hyde prefers to be called daddy now, isn't that right, _daddy_?" When Benny's tiny little eyes peered down at Hyde, Hyde's fist clenched. He'd been getting called _daddy_ a lot recently - at school, at the Hub, at the Piggly Wiggly - and it was doing his freaking head in.

"Shut ya mouth n go catch a ball ya dickhead," Hyde snarled. "Heard your game is slipping, probably all those extra pounds you're carrying under your chin, huh?"

Benny's eyes narrowed as his friends standing by the door laughed. "Not as many pounds as your little girlfriend's carrying under her sweater. Gotta say though, we've all noticed how much her jugs have-"

Before Hyde could react Mr. Morrison moved forward, ushering Benny and his mates out of the classroom. "That's enough, Benny. I'm sure you have other places to be than here," he said, closing the door after them.

Hyde gritted his teeth and sat down on a desk in the front row, unsure how much longer he could go without pounding his fist into someone's face. The pregnancy was recent news for everyone at the school and they were clearly relishing it, but for Hyde the jokes were growing tiresome and increasingly irksome. If the kids were that much in his face he wondered how Jackie was holding up. She'd only been back at school three days and after their disagreement on Saturday she was going out of her way to avoid him. But he hoped that no news was good news; if he hadn't heard about Jackie getting a hard time then hopefully she wasn't.

"So, Hyde," Mr. Morrison said, sitting down on his desk just across from Hyde. "How's it all going? Have you thought any more about what we talked about last week?"

Hyde looked over at his teacher, particularly at the casual way the man chose to dress. Mr. Morrison wasn't a typical, stuffy teacher, turning up everyday in a tie, dress shirt and dress pants. This guy wore jeans and casual shirts, always finished off with the same pair of black boots. His hair was longer than most other teachers too and was always tied back in a small ponytail. His casual demeanour helped Hyde relax around him, even though he represented everything Hyde hated - the education system was a system of control and Mr. Morrison was right there delivering it.

"Yeah I did," Hyde nodded his head.

"And?"

"And yeah, if it's cool with you I'll do it."

Mr. Morrison smiled. "Hyde, I'm really happy to hear that," he said, the deep lines around his eyes making him look older than the 41 years he claimed to the class to be. _Probably a smoker,_ Hyde thought to himself as his eyes zeroed in on the lines around his lips.

"Yeah well, you were right, if I don't pass high school I'm screwed. Don't fancy flippin' burgers at the Hub when I'm 50."

Chuckling, Mr. Morrison agreed. "No, I can't see you doing something like that in 30 years either." Standing up, he handed Hyde two sheets of paper. "You're a clever guy, Hyde, you just need to back up what you know with facts and then you have a shot of going to college and really making something of yourself. You have a real knack for critical thinking and I really want you to start working on these papers as soon as you can. Did you manage to track down a copy of that Spanish textbook we talked about?"

Hyde signed and nodded his head, briefly skimming over the essay questions and instructions Mr. Morrison had handed him. "Yeah I did. A chick that used to go here, Raquel, was selling a copy. Managed to get it for the small price of a movie ticket n a large popcorn."

Remembering the trouble that had started because of that particular book Hyde wondered whether it had been worth it. Jackie was pissed at him. He was pissed at Kelso. But he needed the book. He had to pass Spanish. When Mr. Morrison had called Hyde into his office last week he'd explained that Hyde was on the verge of failing. Too many absences and too many late assignments was about to equal one deadbeat new dad. Hyde's only saving grace came in the form of Mr. Morrison who had offered to tutor Hyde in both history and Spanish so long as Hyde put in the hard work and met every deadline. Plus, much to Hyde's horror, he had made Hyde promise to wear shorts to gym class because, according to Mr. Morrison, those gym class credits were too valuable to throw away over a fashion statement. So shorts, tutoring, hard work, and a textbook obtained by taking a blonde to the movies, were gonna save Hyde the embarrassment of failing high school. And hopefully one day make his kid proud of him.

"Oh I remember Raquel," Mr. Morrison said, sitting down again at his desk. "She still doing well? Last I remember she was off to college to study Psychology."

Hyde folded the paper and looked over at Mr. Morrison. "She traded me a textbook for a date, Mr. Morrison," he said. "I don't think she's in college at this point in time."

"Aaaahhh," Mr. Morrison nodded before opening a blue leatherbound book on his desk. Scanning the pages he asked, "So when is good for you for us to start? I have faculty meetings on Monday and Tuesdays but other than that I'm free to help."

"Um... well I work at the hotel most nights but I guess if you give me some times I could run them by my boss Roy n see if we can shuffle my shifts around."

Mr. Morrison looked up concerned. "I hope you're not doing too many hours there," he said, flicking his pen up and down on the page. "With school and extra study time you still need time to be a kid."

Hyde laughed unconvincingly. "I'm not a kid n I need the money."

"Fair enough." Mr. Morrison shrugged and looked back at his day planner. "How about a Wednesday. Actually, we could do a couple of hours now if you like."

"No can do." Hyde shook his head, remembering the parenting class he was supposed to be at in a few hours. "I start work in half n hour then I have to be at parenting classes at six. Wednesdays are gonna suck for the next few weeks."

"The joys of having kids, huh?" Mr. Morrison smiled. "Hey, we've all been there and you'll be surprised how much you learn at those classes. Look, you just get back to me with your work schedule and we'll sort out some study time around your hours. But in the meantime make a start on that World War II topic...I expect you to know all the significant dates when I catch up with you next."

Hyde rolled his eyes and shook his teachers hand, thanking the older man for his help. He appreciated the time Mr. Morrison was prepared to put into helping him pass the rest of the year, but was also a little annoyed at the same time. He could write a book about the dangers of fascism in a day but unfortunately teachers in this school didn't want to read his ramblings, no matter how insightful they were. Teachers wanted dates, places and facts, so that's what Hyde had to give them. Even if it meant turning into a girly swat to get the job done.

* * *

 _Four Hours Later..._

The brakes screeched as the El Camino skidded to a halt outside the Forman's house. Pulling the keys out of the ignition Hyde took a deep breath, attempting to calm himself down before exiting the car and going inside. The Formans didn't need anymore drama in their lives right now. Between Kitty's menopause, Laurie's antics, and Hyde's baby on the way, the drama quota was just about at it's peak and Hyde walking in like a hothead had the potential to tip it to overflowing.

He had to forget about it. He had to handle the fact he'd just spent two hours at a parenting class on his own. He had to push away the embarrassment he'd felt as other couples stared at him like he was some crazy pervert who got off on hanging 'round parenting classes on Wednesday nights. He had to let it all go and move on.

But letting things go just wasn't his style.

Getting mad was.

He took another deep breath as he slowly walked up the driveway. On what universe did Jackie think it was okay or fair to stand him up like that? Sure she was mad and hurt, but standing him up _there_ of all places wasn't cool. At all. She could've made plans to meet him at the Hub and left him stewing there if she wanted to make a point. Leaving him to put diapers on a plastic doll on his own was next level low and he wasn't gonna let her get away with it.

If she had wanted a war she just got one.

Stepping into the kitchen Hyde was surprised to see the whole gang sitting with Red and Kitty. A quick scan of the room assured him it was the whole gang bar one pregnant brunette which he decided was a good thing - no one needed to witness that particular showdown.

"Hey," he greeted them as he pulled the sliding door closed behind him.

The group mumbled their unenthusiastic 'hello's' and it was then that Hyde noticed the sombre mood hanging heavy in the room.

"Everything cool?" he asked, not sure that he even wanted to know.

Kitty was standing at the kitchen counter pouring herself a large glass of wine. Fanning her face with her other hand, she looked over at Hyde. "Have you talked to Jackie, honey?"

Hyde tossed his keys on the counter, doing his best to keep his anger in check. "Don't even mention Jackie to me tonight," he grumbled.

"So you haven't seen her then?" Donna asked, her tone barely above a whisper, her face a picture of concern.

Hyde looked around the room again. Red, seated in his usual chair at the table, was staring straight at him waiting for a response. Fez, Kelso and Eric also had their eyes locked on Hyde in weird anticipation. Their eyes, their strange moods, the fact they were all crammed into the Forman's kitchen at 8 o'clock at night, made Hyde nervous.

"No," he shrugged. "She freaking stood me up at parenting class. Haven't heard from her or seen her."

Red cleared his throat. "Well maybe now's a good time to give her a call."

"Yes, Steven," Kitty agreed, pulling the phone off the receiver and holding it out to Hyde. "You should call her."

Hyde stood in the middle of the kitchen feeling like a sideshow freak, wishing someone would just tell him why the hell he had to call the person that had just pissed him off. "Why?"

Kitty's eyes grew wide as she tried pushing the phone into his hand. "Just call h-"

"Coz her dad's gone to the slammer for ripping everyone off," Kelso announced loudly.

Hyde swung around to look at his taller friend. "What?"

Kelso was nodding authoritatively. "Jack's been arrested, happened today, it's all over the news."

At first Hyde felt relief; relief that nothing had happened to his baby, or Jackie for that matter. But once the news that Jack Burkhart had been arrested began to sink in an odd mixture of concern and protectiveness washed over him. He thought of Jackie, pregnant and alone in her huge house, abandoned by her mother, let down by her father. Glancing at Eric he raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"It's true," Eric said. "From what she told Donna the cops were all over her house when she got home from school."

Picking up his keys he didn't bother saying goodbye to his friends and family. He didn't know what he was gonna say to her, but he had to see that Jackie was okay.

* * *

Jackie pulled open another drawer, frantically tossing more baby clothes into the half-filled garbage bag she held in her trembling hand. There was no time to fold the beautiful items in the manner in which they deserved. Instead they were shoved into the bag like cheap rags no one wanted anymore.

But Jackie wanted them, which was why she moving around the room like a tornado, desperately picking up everything in her path. She promised herself though, that in a few days, when the dust had settled, she would empty the bags and neatly fold everything. In a few days everything would be perfect again.

Or so she told herself.

Bad things didn't happen to Burkharts. Bad things happened to people who deserved it; like poor people or criminals, and her dad didn't fit into either category. Embezzlement... _as if!_ Like her father _needed_ to steal money. Like he would ever _knowingly_ misappropriate funds. It was all just a horrible misunderstanding that his lawyers were going to sort out in a few days. _In a few days...I'll be home in a few days..._ That's what her daddy had said before he was led to the waiting police car.

And her daddy didn't break promises.

Emptying the last drawer, Jackie was startled by a soft tap a the door. Looking up she was surprised to see Hyde standing there.

Sighing, she pushed more clothes down hard into the garbage bag and tried to tie the bag up, her shaking hands making the task difficult. "If you've come to argue about blonde skanks, Michael, parenting classes, or the Formans, I'm really not in the mood. Maybe try again tomorrow."

"Here," Hyde said, ignoring her statement and instead taking the bag from her, "let me do it."

Surprised, Jackie stepped back, letting Hyde tie the two ends of the bag together. "Thanks."

"So, ah, what's goin' on in here?" Hyde asked, placing the bag with the numerous other ones by the door.

"It's all gotta go to Donna's," Jackie said, putting her hands on her hips, pleased that Hyde was staying true to form and not pressing her to talk or get emotional. "I just hope she's moved her giant shoes so I can fit it all in her wardrobe."

"Donna's?" Hyde looked puzzled. "Why's it all going there?"

"Because I need to hide it."

"From who? Baby burglars?"

Jackie narrowed her eyes at Hyde. Now was no time for jokes. " _No._ Those stupid men who call themselves detectives were saying something about taking everything daddy purchased in the last six months and these things were purchased last week using daddy's credit cards...I'm not losing my baby's things, Steven. I've gotta hide them."

"I dunno, Jackie..." Hyde ran a hand over his beard, looking between Jackie and her baby gear. "There'll be a paper trail, you don't wanna get in shit over a few babygrows n bibs."

"Exactly, 'a few babygrows n bibs', they're hardly gonna be bothered with this stuff." Jackie shrugged. "But just in case, can we put them into the Camino n take them to Donna's?"

Hyde appeared uneasy which annoyed the hell out of Jackie. Now of all times he decides to go all 'upstanding citizen' on her.

"Fine, I'll take them in the Lincoln," she snapped, picking up a bag which was then quickly ripped out of her hand.

"No, I'll do it," Hyde relented, picking up as many bags as he could hold. "Don't you grab anything," he warned before Jackie could pick up the bouncinette. "You'll fall n hurt yourself n the kid. Leave it to me."

With Hyde busy loading up the El Camino, Jackie took the opportunity to wander around the rest of the house searching for any other items that needed to be stored at the Pinciotti's. It was unnerving how strange the house, _her home_ , now felt. It had always been a big house, too big for only three people, but now it felt even bigger. Now, without her parents and their parties, the house seemed uninviting...unloved...

Opening the door to her parents grand bedroom Jackie was immediately met with the familiar scent of Chanel No. 5. The jasmine hues took her back to her childhood days, the ones spent clinging to her mother's leg as the older woman laughed and danced with friends and guests. Pamela was always laughing and smiling. Always the belle of the ball. Always the rock Jackie could cling to.

Until a year or so ago when she'd decided her daughter didn't need her like she used to so vacationing was a better use of her time.

But it didn't matter how long Pam spent at her various holiday destinations because she never fully left home. Her signature scent, Chanel No. 5, was embedded deep within every soft furnishing. The house, the bedroom, the linen, always smelled like Pam. A constant reminder for Jackie that her mother was somewhere out there, just not here.

Walking to the closet Jackie ignored the silver framed photos of her parents that adorned their tall dresser. Staring at photographs of smiling parents wasn't going to bring her parents back to her. She had to be proactive; not a snivelling little girl crying about being abandoned. She had tasks to accomplish. There was no time for tears.

Pushing Pamela's evening dresses to the side, Jackie found what she'd come for. Fur coats. And lots of them. Ripping them off the hangers she threw them onto the bed one by one.

"Car's all loaded," Hyde announced, walking over to the bed. "What're you doing now?" He picked up a white fur, screwing his face up at such obvious ostentatiousness before throwing it back down.

"We're taking these," Jackie said, pulling a long, fawn coat out from the back of the closet. "Well actually, you're taking them for me."

Hyde laughed a short laugh. "And where exactly am I taking a pile of fur coats?"

"You know people, right?" Jackie asked. Certain that the closet was now clear of furs she began counting the ones on the bed. Seven. There were seven furs which had to mean some serious cash. Looking at Hyde, she said, "People who'll pay cash for this sort'a stuff?"

Hyde furrowed his brow and folded his arms across his chest. "You're sellin' Pam's furs? Seriously?"

Jackie silently nodded.

"Why?"

She couldn't deal with questions right now. Questions meant she was expected to deliver an answer and to do that meant saying out loud what she believed deep down in her heart. For the last few hours, alone in the empty house, Jackie had told herself this was all a mistake. Her dad was innocent, he'd be home in a few days. But deep, deep down in her heart she knew that was a lie. Jack had been acting strangely for months now, locking himself in his office, skipping Christmas, trying to tell Jackie to stand on her own two feet. He knew this was coming and Jackie had a horrible feeling Pam did as well. But admitting all that out loud made it real.

And Jackie couldn't deal with reality just yet.

"Coz now's a good time to get a little extra cash," Jackie shrugged.

"Look, I'll help you hide the baby things but I'm not selling your ma's fur coats," Hyde asserted. "If the cops get me I'll be done for burglary and selling stolen goods...I'm still on freakin' probation. Don't need any more charges, man."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "They're not stolen goods if I gave them to you, Steven."

"And what about when your ma reports them stolen? I'm pretty sure they'll be stolen goods then."

"My mom isn't even here to notice them gone." Jackie felt her voice hitch and she cleared her throat, hoping to get rid of the lump that was forming. "She can't report what she doesn't know."

Hyde's face softened as he took a seat on the bed by the coats. "Yeah, but she'll be back in the next couple days right? Y'know, with what's happened n all?"

Jackie shook her head. "No, she's not coming back just yet. Maybe in a couple of weeks she said."

To Jackie's surprise Hyde pulled off his sunglasses, revealing piercing blue eyes. She was used to the intense gaze of those eyes but tonight for some reason they made her uncomfortable.

"What?!" Hyde said sternly. "Why isn't she on her way back now? Did you tell her what's going on?"

"Of course I did! I called her the minute the cops started waving search warrants in my face!" Jackie's tone was defensive but she didn't care. "I asked her to come home right away but she said she couldn't. What was I supposed to do...begging wasn't working, her family falling apart wasn't enough..."

"Tell her it's her fuckin' job..." Hyde stood up and began pacing the room, never noticing the tears slowly falling down Jackie's face. The first tears she'd let fall that day.

"I did," she whispered.

"Then why the fuck isn't she on the first flight out? She should be here, man, lookin' after you. Fuck, Jackie -" he turned to look at her, " -what are you gonna do?"

"Sell the coats and hope whatever I get for them is enough to keep Rosa here for a few more weeks," Jackie sniffed and then shrugged, as though it was normal for a pregnant seventeen old to be organising the sale of stolen fur coats for the purpose of paying the hired help's wages.

"Jackie, that's only gonna tide you over for a couple weeks. What happens when the money runs out n Rosa's gotta look for another job? What happens when the baby comes?"

"Daddy will be home by then..."

She heard him sigh so she kept her gaze firmly on the shag carpet beneath her feet, afraid to see the pitiful look he was no doubt throwing her way.

Hyde crouched down next to her, putting his warm hands on her knees, and softly said, "I don't think your dad's gonna be home by then, doll,"

"I know."

"You... _we_ need a plan."

Jackie sniffed again as Hyde wiped a tear from her cheek. "I know," she choked out.

"Okay," Hyde started, his eyes darting around the room as his brain obviously worked overtime to formulate the plan they needed. "So tonight you can stay at Donna's. We'll call Bob, he'll be sweet with it for sure. Actually, you could probably stay there a few nights, while Red n Mrs. Forman sort someth-"

Jackie's heart rate sped up to a dizzying speed as she processed what Hyde was saying. She was _not_ a charity case. She did _not_ need help from the Pinciotti's or the Forman's. The Burkhart name was _not_ completely in tatters.

Well not yet anyway.

"Steven, stop!" she yelled as panic surged through her. "I'm not going to Donna's! I'm staying right here, in my home. God, I'm not a helpless little girl who needs saving. I'm a woman and I'm about to be a mom...I can take care of myself."

"That's just my point, Jackie. You're about to be a mom n you have no one here to look out for you. What if something happened in the middle of the night? There's no one here, man."

"Rosa will be back from seeing her son on Friday so I'll only be alone for two nights. I'm sure nothing drastic will happen between now and then. But if it does I'll be sure to call you."

Hyde shook his head, his hands slowly moving from her knees to her stomach. His mere touch relaxing her, stopping the panic in it's tracks.

"No can do," he said, his tone stern but playful at the same time. "That's my kid in there n I can't let anything happen to it or it's mom. If you won't leave this house then I guess I'm stayin'."

"You're what?"

"I'm stayin' here."

"But...but...but the Formans, and school, and we're not even friends right now," Jackie stuttered, shock and a strange sense of contentment washing over her exhausted body. "The argument...we haven't even talked abou-"

"Shut up, Jackie," Hyde ordered, his hands still moving all around her baby bump. "I'm stayin' n that's final. Now, have you even eaten anything tonight?"

Jackie shook her head. Like she could've made herself something to eat while her father was being pushed into a cop car like a common criminal. She couldn't cook to save her life when things were going good in her life, let alone in a crisis.

"Right, well I'll go make us some dinner. See you downstairs in thirty minutes," Hyde winked before standing up and leaving the room.

And a very relieved Jackie.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Wow, this is shaping up to be a really long fic...we're already up to chapter 13 and I still have so much more planned for these two! Hope you'll stay with me. Next chapter is nearly done. Thanks so much for reviewing/favouriting/following - I really appreciate it!_**


	14. Chapter 14

"Come on, Jackie." Hyde rapped his knuckles again on the bathroom door. "We'll be late."

After a few moments of silence he heard her shuffle around the small room, but not towards the door. "Jackie, come on!" he called again.

"I'm not going!"

Hyde's head fell against the closed door. "We've talked about this, you gotta come. Not showin' up is just letting them win."

"I don't care." The door finally flew open, catching Hyde off guard and practically sending him tumbling into Jackie. With her hands flat on his back she said, "Let them win, I'm _so_ not going to school today."

This truly felt like a fight he wasn't gonna win but Hyde still had to try. "Jackie, I promised Red we'd go. If he finds out I stayed here n then we didn't show up at school he'll kill me. You want the baby to have a dad don't you? You don't wanna let it grow up thinkin' I died coz you wouldn't suck it up n go to school."

"Suck it up? And by suck it up do you mean pretend that all the pregnancy jokes and jokes about my criminal father won't bother me? Steven, do you honestly expect me to hold my head up and walk around the school like my whole world isn't falling apart? Is that really something you think I can do?"

Hyde frowned and stared at Jackie. She looked so pale, standing there in her bright pink pajamas, all he really wanted to do was tell her to go back to bed and get some sleep. All night she'd tossed and turned and all night he'd tried to comfort her as best he could. When she'd cried he'd stroked her hair. When she'd whimpered in her sleep he'd pulled her closer. And when she'd clung to him, semi-conscious and frightened, he'd let her. But now it was his job to force her to do something she didn't want to do.

Because if he didn't Red would kill him.

"Look, just put some of that crap on your face n come to school," he said, flinching when she swatted his arm with her hairbrush. "Who gives a shit what they have to say anyway? They're all morons who have their own shit to hide."

"Firstly, are you saying I look like hell? Coz if you are that's really not helping get me to school. And secondly, _I_ give a shit, Steven. I give a shit about what they have to say because I've already lost most of my friends at that school and now I'm about to lose the rest." Jackie sat down at the end of her bed with her arms crossed, looking sad as hell.

Hyde wanted to tell her that she was wrong, that people wouldn't care about what her father had done, but that would've been a lie. Point Place was a small town where everyone knew everyone, and everyone had a vested interest in the towns progress. Embezzling money from the city was not a good look and there were sure to be a few kids at school with a lot to say to Jackie. And there really wasn't much Hyde could do about it.

"You don't look like hell, just a bit tired-" he started.

"Being told you look tired is the same as being told you look like hell," Jackie interrupted.

Hyde ignored her. "- and I know you're gonna get some shit but isn't it better to get it over with now n be done with it? If it gets too heavy just come find me n I'll sort it out but I'm sure you can handle it all anyway. You're Jackie Burkhart...you can take down any one of those assholes with one sentence."

A corner of Jackie's mouth rose. "Yeah, I kinda can..."

"No kinda about it," Hyde smiled. "You got this."

* * *

Lunchtime at Point Place High. Once upon a time it was Jackie's favourite part of the school day. Once upon a time it was when she and her friends would gather in the cafeteria and critique the less fashionable's tacky ensembles or chat about the previous night's phone conversations with boys. It used to be a time when Jackie truly felt her priviledged position at school was noted because she sat at the popular table with the popular people, doing the things popular people did. But fast forward four weeks and those memories felt like a lifetime ago. Jackie's reign at Point Place High was over and now she was relegated to the empty table by the trash cans while the popular girls talked about _her_.

"These seats taken?" a voice asked as Jackie stabbed her Jell-O with a spoon.

She looked up to find Eric, Fez and Kelso standing at the table holding their lunch trays. Never had she ever been so happy to see the losers.

Quickly shifting her bag off the table and putting it on her lap she said, "Of course not, sit down!"

"Even me?" Fez asked, his face full of remorse.

"Even you," Jackie assured him.

The table was quiet for a while, everyone tucking into their food, everyone nervous about bringing up Jackie's dad, and Jackie prayed that times like these wouldn't last for too long. People fearing her she could handle; people pitying her she could not. Especially when those people were the people she once pitied - dorks, foreigners and slutty morons. But as much as she hated the silence she still couldn't bring herself to make conversation. God she wished Steven were there.

She pushed her tray to the side, sick of playing with the food she felt too sick to eat.

Fez's eyes lit up. "Um, Jackie, if you do not want that may I have it please?"

"Go for it," Jackie answered, sliding the full tray across the table to Fez. "I can't eat it."

"Wouldn't be much room in there for food now would there?" Kelso licked the lid of his pudding cup and nodded toward Jackie's stomach. "You're lookin' so big I'm surprised you can still stand up." Jackie glared at him. It annoyed her how little Kelso knew about a woman's body, especially as he'd always claimed to be such an expert on the matter. Once again she congratulated herself for ceasing to believe he could ever be a doctor.

"Of course there's room in there for food," she told him. "How else do you think the baby grows? The baby needs me to eat so that I can pass on the nutrients to it."

"Then why aren't you eating? You haven't touched your food. Perhaps you should eat some more." Eric asked, prompting Fez to awkwardly push Jackie's lunch back over to her.

It wasn't too hard to work out that Eric had been ordered to keep a look out for Jackie by either Donna, Hyde or Kitty. Though the thought was nice - there weren't many other people in her life that gave a damn right now after all - a food monitor wasn't what she needed. Friends, and maybe a steady income was.

Shaking her head she said, "No, Fez, you have it. I'm really not hungry...especially not for this crap."

Eric jingled his keys. "We could go to the Hub if you want? Still got 40 minutes 'til the bell rings."

"Eric I'm fine really. I had a big breakfast and that's keeping me going. You don't need to fuss-"

"Speaking of breakfast-" Kelso threw his pudding cup over Jackie's shoulder toward the bins lined up against the wall. When the little plastic cup landed in the centre bin he did a quick fist pump before looking seriously at Jackie, "- word has it you had a guest for the most important meal of the day...and not just any guest...a male guest."

Jackie's face soured. "Yeah, so? Steven stayed last night. No big deal."

"Well I think it is a big deal," Kelso bellowed. "Girl boy sleepovers are never innocent-"

"Not when you're the boy involved," Jackie said rolling her eyes.

"Not when any guy's involved," asserted Kelso. "So tell me, Jackie, where did Hyde sleep at your little pajama party?"

Eric sighed loudly, folding his arms. "Kelso, that's enough. We all know why Hyde stayed at Jackie's lastnight. She doesn't need the third degree."

While Jackie appreciated the dork's help, she decided she could handle her ex-boyfriend on her own.

"It's fine, Eric," she said, "I don't mind telling Michael where Steven slept." Turning to Kelso she said, "He slept in the guest bedroom if you must know and he was a perfect gentleman."

Jackie wasn't lying, Hyde had slept in the guest bedroom. She had, however, omitted the part about her crawling into bed with him sometime around midnight. Trying to sleep alone in her bed had proved pointless. Her brain had been working in overdrive attempting to sort out her mess of a life so she'd gotten up to get a glass of milk. When she'd finished her drink, she'd quietly tiptoed back to her room but the sound of Hyde softly snoring stopped her. Deciding that sleep may come a bit easier if she wasn't alone, Jackie had crept into the guest room and slid in next to Hyde's warm body. Even the memory of his arm quickly but softly creeping around her waist brought comfort. Who would've thought Hyde could be so caring and gentle?

Lost in her warm memories Jackie didn't notice a dark shadow fall over the table. Well, not until it spoke.

"Surprised you'd show your face here today, Jackie."

Jackie looked up to find Katie Jones, the most annoying tumbler to ever grace the cheer team, standing at the side of the table. "I'm surprised you show your face here any day, Kathy," she spat.

"My name's Katie."

"Whatever." Jackie proceeded to rummage through her handbag, not really in search of anything other than something to occupy her time. She could feel Katie still standing there, still formulating the perfect burn, and Jackie knew it was only a matter of time before it was delivered.

Katie swung a hand onto her hip. "Your father ripped off the city, so technically we own all your fancy clothes and all your fancy handbags. We probably own your house too."

"Oh you wish." Jackie pulled out a tube of lipgloss and dabbed some on her lips. "Just because you shop at Skank Rags R'Us don't start trying to find a way to get your grubby little fingers on my clothes." Despite what was coming out of her mouth, Jackie really did feel terrible knowing that Katie was probably right. Her clothes, her jewellery, her baby gear _was_ probably bought with stolen money and she felt sick about it.

"My daddy said that when he put your dad in the police car you cried like a little baby...guess all your fancy clothes aren't helping you sleep well at night anymore, huh?"

Eric stood up and turned to Katie. "That's enough, Katie," he said, much to Jackie's surprise. "Just leave her alone."

"Yeah," Fez agreed standing up next to Eric, "Jackie does not have to listen to this. She might have cried when her father went to prison but at least she still has good hair...you, I have to say, do not!"

"But I still have a family," Katie scoffed.

"Of fat people," Jackie reminded her. "So don't get too used to tumbling. If your sisters are anything to go by you'll be too big to be doing that by senior year. But I hear there's a spot opening up on the wrestling team if you're interested?"

When Katie stomped her foot and stormed off Jackie smiled. Her happiness however, was short lived when Hyde appeared from nowhere. Fearing the growling she was sure to receive she went back to combing through her purse.

"Nice burn," he said, pulling out the vacant seat next to her.

Her head shot up. "What?"

"I said nice burn."

"Really?" Maybe she was too used to being chastised by Hyde because she really wasn't expecting his reaction. "But it wasn't very zen of me..."

"Who cares," Kelso grinned. "It was the truth. I've seen her sisters n believe me, they're not tumbling anywhere-"

"Nah, man," Hyde grinned, "They're rollin'."

"-yeah, all the way to the cake shop!" Kelso finished, high fiving Hyde.

That caught Fez's attention. "We have a cake shop?" He drummed his fingers together and leaned forward. "Tell me, where is this shop?"

While Eric lined up the plates, utensils, and rubbish as a make shift map, Hyde moved closer to Jackie, his hand lightly rubbing against her thigh under the table.

"How's today been?" he whispered.

Jackie turned her body toward him. "Horrible," she admitted. "That was the eleventh person to ask me what the hell I'm doing here...not that I'm counting or anything. I told you I shouldn't have come. I could be at home now painting my nails or killing myself..."

"Jackie!" Hyde smacked her thigh, hard enough to make her jump but soft enough to not actually hurt her. "Don't even say shit like that, man!"

"I was joking-"

"Not even funny." He reached over and grabbed her bottle of water, taking a swig. "Anyway, there's only a couple hours to go n we're outta here."

"Thank God."

Hyde took another gulp of water before checking his watch. "Look, I gotta go okay? Just came to check you hadn't pummelled anybody. I'll meet you by your locker after school."

"Wait -" Jackie grabbed the front of his sweatshirt before he could stand up. "- where are you going? You only just got here and now your leaving? Can't you stay for a bit?"

The desperation was practically dripping out of her mouth but Jackie was helpless to stop it. She'd waited outside Hyde's Spanish class for nearly ten minutes after the lunch bell had rung and had been bitterly disappointed when he didn't come out. She needed him with her today. He was her allie in a war she really felt she couldn't wage alone.

He wrapped his fingers around her hand and gave it a squeeze before prising it off of his sweater. "Jackie, I gotta go do something with Ms. Garcia-"

"The Spanish teacher?"

"Yeah. But look, you got these guys -" he nodded toward Eric and Kelso who were now watching Fez make women's body parts with the lunch rubbish, " - correction, _idiots,_ to hang with n I promise I'll be waitin' for you after school."

Reluctantly, Jackie nodded. "I'll see you after school then?" Hyde nodded. When he went to walk away Jackie added, "And, Steven, no more detentions okay? Look at all the fun you're missing out on during break time?" She smiled as he rolled his eyes at his friends antics and when he smiled back at her she knew she could get through the next two hours without him.

Not that she had much choice.

* * *

 _8pm That Night_

Pulling up outside the Burkhart's house, Hyde couldn't miss the ugly, beat-up van parked right out front. Of course Kelso was here. Of course the tool had jumped on the first opportunity he had to get Jackie alone. Of course he was gonna try to rip apart any progress Hyde had made with her. Not that Hyde was trying to progress a romantic relationship with her at this point...but the little steps they'd made toward a friendship felt more like giant leaps and he didn't want them erased.

Especially not by Kelso.

Hyde parked the Camino next to Kelso's van and hopped out, smiling at the obvious contrasts between the two cars. His Camino was a muscle car, sleek, fast and well taken care of. Kelso's van on the other hand, coughed and spluttered it's way around town and still carried with it the foul aroma of dead fish. There was no competition in Hyde's mind; the Camino would win against the van any day of the week. But would he ever win against it's owner?

Deciding to play it cool and not upset Jackie any more than she already was, he took a deep breath and walked inside. Light from the television flickered through to the hallway and the muffled opening music from Welcome Back, Kotter rang out through the otherwise quiet house. Hyde braced himself, if he walked into the living room and found them snuggled up on the couch he wasn't sure how cool he'd be able to play it.

He relaxed a little when he walked in and saw Jackie cuddled up on one side of the long couch and Kelso slouched over the arm at the other end. The distance between the two pleased him. Distance was good.

"Hey," he said, the sound of his voice rousing Jackie into a sitting position.

"Hi!" she greeted him. "How was work?"

Hyde shrugged and sat down on a chair close to the door. "Work was work. Brought us back some dinner," he said holding up the paper bag of fried chicken and mashed potatoes, "You hungry?"

"Not really," Jackie answered.

"Yeah," Kelso chimed in. "She wouldn't even eat the food I brought over n it was pot roast, her favourite." He looked at Hyde and grinned. "You see I know all her favourite things, being that I was with her for years n all."

Hyde narrowed his eyes but remained silent.

Jackie didn't. "Oh, shut up, Michael. I didn't want your pot roast 'cause it looked like it was cooked two weeks ago. Do you want me to get food poisoning?"

"Jackie it wasn't two weeks old, we had it the other night. I saw my brother eating some after school...it would've been fine."

"I've also seen your brother eat dirt from the garden, Michael. His body's probably immune from toxins by now with all the crap you boys force down each other's throats. My body, on the other hand, is not." Jackie stood up, placing her hands on her lower back and stretching. It was obvious to Hyde that she was beyond exhausted and he silently cursed himself for not calling in sick to work. He should've been here cooking her proper food and making her go to bed.

"You okay, Jackie?" he asked.

She smiled through a yawn and nodded her head. "Yeah, just a little tired. Now that I'm not alone with a perve I might go take a bath n go to bed."

Kelso furrowed his brow. "I hope when you say perve you are not referring to me!"

"I am."

"God, Jackie, I'm here to take care of you, not perve. But...if you did need me to wash your back you know I would've helped you out." He winked just as a cushion thrown by Hyde smacked him in the side of the head.

Jackie sighed as she pushed Kelso's legs out of the way and walked toward the door. "Whatever," she said. "But thanks though, for hanging out. I'll see you tomorrow, Michael."

Once she was gone, Hyde turned to Kelso. "So, _Michael,_ allow me to escort you out," he said, a directive hand waving through the air toward the door.

"But I'm watching Welcome Back, Kotter!" Kelso moaned. "I'll go when it's finished." Another fluffy cushion hit him in the head.

"No, you'll go now. If you hurry you'll catch the end at your place."

Kelso grumbled but stood up all the same. "Fine!"

As they walked to the door Hyde cleared his throat. "What are you up to, Kelso?" he asked as they stepped out onto the porch.

"Um, I'm going home," Kelso said a little confused. "Like you told me to."

"No, I mean what are you up to with Jackie. This is the second time in less than a week that I've found you over here. What's up with that?"

"Nothings _up with that_ , she's my friend n she needs me. I'm just being a good friend, Hyde. Although you wouldn't know much about that, y'know, seeing as how you like to hook up with your friend's girlfriends n all." He winced as Hyde frogged him in the arm.

"Kelso you wouldn't know the first thing about being friends with a chick so why are you really hangin' 'round Jackie, man? She's pregnant - with my kid - why don't you go harass some other poor girl who doesn't have the fruit of my loins growing inside her." Hyde's words surprised even him. What was he doing? He was acting all boyfriend-y, telling Kelso to back off his chick. But the chick wasn't his, and she was freaking Jackie of all people. The situation scared the crap out of him but he couldn't stop. He hated Kelso and Jackie's little get togethers and he wanted them to end, now.

Kelso's face darkened. "Jackie was my girlfriend for years, Hyde, and she's going through a rough time. If she wants to rest her head on these broad babies -" he flexed his biceps. Hyde rolled his eyes. "- then she can go right ahead. I'm not abandoning her in her time of need."

"Oh, but you could abandon her straight after the two of you got engaged just to sleep with random beach trash in California, right?"

Kelso shrugged. "As long as she needs me I'm gonna be here for her. Ain't nothing you can do about it, my man," he said as he started up the van. Hyde quickly moved as a puff of black smoke bellowed from the muffler. "Catch you later."

"Whatever."

Hyde stormed back inside and settled on the couch, absentmindedly watching the television flickering before him. He could see the people and hear their voices but nothing that was happening on screen was registering in his brain. All he could think about was Kelso and Jackie. _Jackie and freaking Kelso._ What right did Hyde have to tell Kelso to fuck off? He wasn't Jackie's boyfriend. Hell, last week they weren't even talking. It really wasn't his place to dictate who she could and couldn't hang out with, and quite frankly it annoyed him that he even cared. He was Steven Hyde, he wasn't supposed to care about anything.

But he did care and to his horror he cared about _her._ He cared that her parents were gone and she was on her own. He cared that she was getting crap from everyone at school. He cared that she looked like she hadn't slept in a week. And he cared that she was having his baby.

But right now, most of all, he cared that it looked like Kelso cared more than he did.

Hyde knew that Jackie didn't want to be alone at lunch or after school but he'd put his stupid tutoring and shitty job ahead of her needs. He'd told her to suck it up. Kelso the fucking hero hadn't. Oh no, that creep had made sure to find her at lunch and probably marched straight here after school. Jackie would've been so grateful, despite the expired meal offerings, and was no doubt planning their wedding again in her head. Hyde, in her mind, was the untrustworthy abandoner while Kelso was the knight in shining armour. The whole thing was sickening.

"Steven?"

Her voice shook Hyde back into reality. "Yeah?" he said, turning to see Jackie standing in a purple bathrobe in the doorway.

"I was calling you," she said. "I'm going to bed now."

"Oh, sorry," Hyde sat up, "I didn't hear you, TV too loud probably."

Jackie looked puzzled at the TV which was barely above a whisper. "Um, okay. Anyways, I was wondering if I could sleep with you again tonight." Her cheeks flushed pink as she spoke and Hyde's heart sped up to an embarrassing speed. "I just, well, I don't really wanna be on my own...but I completely understand if you don't wan-"

Her eyes were wide and her voice was breaking as she tried to contain her nerves. It was so adorable Hyde just had to smile. "Jackie, it's cool. You can sleep with me."

Jackie frowned. "It's _cool,_ cool? Or it's _cool, cool_?" she asked.

"It's cool," Hyde replied with a small laugh. But Jackie remained frowning so Hyde decided to ditch a bit of the zen - the girl had no parents after all, she shouldn't have to lose her dignity in the same week. "Jackie, I'm sayin' I want you to sleep with me. That way I don't have to worry about you gettin' stolen in the night n shit."

"So I can sleep with you because it makes your life easier?"

Hyde ginned. "Precisely."

"Whatever," Jackie mumbled, walking back up the stairs.

" _Whatever,_ whatever? Or w _hatever, whatever?_ "

...

After eating, showering and brushing his teeth, Hyde nervously climbed into bed. This was the first time ever he'd gotten into bed with a girl with full intentions of just sleeping. It was weird, awkward. He didn't know where to put his hands, or his feet, or his damn body. How close was he meant to get? Was he supposed to say anything? Was she even awake? Should he turn the lamp off?

How the hell did couples do this every night?

"God, Steven, can you stop moving?" Jackie grumbled. "This is a bed, not a flipping trampoline!"

Hyde froze. That was one question answered; Jackie was indeed awake. "Sorry."

She sighed. "It's okay," she said, turning on her side to face him. "I shouldn't have snapped at you. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Hyde grew strangely uncomfortable as Jackie's small breaths warmed his bicep, and he couldn't look at her, his eyes trained on the ceiling panels instead. "So, did you talk to your mom today?" he asked.

"No."

"Your old man?"

"Nope."

What the hell was he meant to say now? This kinda talk was Mrs. Forman's domain, not his. "Hey, maybe we should go see the Formans after school tomorrow," he suggested, figuring it'd do Jackie good to have someone insightful to talk to. "I know they wanna see you."

He heard Jackie swallow and she took a few moments before she spoke. "I dunno, Steven. After the whole crib thing I doubt they'd really want to see me. I was so rude and they were being so kind and I made Mrs. Forman so upset and I just don't think they-"

"Jackie, they wanna see you," Hyde interrupted. "They're worried about you n they wanna see that you're okay."

"You mean they feel sorry for me."

"Yeah, they feel sorry for you, everyone does."

Jackie rolled onto her back and pulled the covers high under her chin. "I don't want everyone to pity me. I'm not that girl."

"Well you are now," Hyde said, turning onto his side to look at her. She was staring at the ceiling panels now, her eyes glassy with tears, her bottom lip trembling. Hyde gently picked up a lock of her hair from the pillow and twirled it with his fingers. "But that doesn't mean it'll stay like that, Jackie. Things 'ill get better, people will get over it."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"Do you even remember my parents? I was you once, only my olds didn't leave me in a mansion with a shitload of food n a car."

Jackie giggled. "Yeah, you just had crackers."

"And ketchup," Hyde reminded her. "Don't forget the ketchup."

"That doesn't count, you stole the ketchup." Jackie rolled back onto her side to face Hyde, her pink lips turned up into a smile.

"Whatever."

Without warning Jackie grabbed Hyde's hand, slipping it under her pajama top and placing it on her stomach. "Baby's awake!" she grinned, her whole face lighting up.

Hyde nuzzled his head into the soft, downy pillow as his baby kicked, rolled and wriggled under his hand. It used to creep him out, all this alien baby business, but now he delighted in it. It was both scary and enthralling, knowing that in a few months time this little being wouldn't be hidden inside Jackie but would instead be in their arms.

And amongst all this craziness.

"I think she'll be a ballerina," Jackie said as the baby tossed and turned in her belly.

"Or he'll be a kung-fu master," Hyde smirked.

"Ugh, can you honestly imagine me with a little boy karate chopping planks of wood?"

"As a matter of fact I can."

"Well-" Jackie tucked her hands under her pillow, "-I just hope she or he has your eyes. It'd be a travesty not to pass those things on."

Jackie's compliment threw Hyde for a six and he all of a sudden didn't know what to do with his damn eyes. She was staring right into them as they tried to look anywhere but at her.

"Awwww, did I make Steven Hyde blush?" Jackie laughed.

"I'm not blushin'," Hyde argued. "I don't blush."

"Oh I think you do!"

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too. Hey, Steven?"

"Yeah?"

"You have really pretty eyes..."

Hyde rolled his eyes before swiftly pulling Jackie's pillow out from under her and tossing it on the floor.

"Shut your piehole, Jackie," he growled, "you're getting annoying."

Jackie shot up and slapped him on the arm. "You pig!" she cried, her eyes dancing in amusement, her lips tight in mock irritation. "Pick that pillow up right now, mister!"

"Can't, too tired," Hyde muttered, tucking his hands under his head. "But you go right ahead." He watched as Jackie crawled off the bed, cursing his name as she did so. When she threw the pillow back on the bed and shot him daggers, he smiled. It was as if she were back for a moment - the summertime Jackie. The Jackie that wasn't weighed down by countless problems and obstacles. For a few minutes she was just her usual feisty, sexy self...not demanding, whinging, crying, or bitching. She was summertime Jackie.

Except she wasn't.

"You okay?" he asked, wrapping an arm around her as she snuggled into his side.

"Yeah, just cold thanks to someone making me get out of the bed."

"Sorry."

"No you're not."

"Yeah, no I'm not." Hyde smirked and pulled her closer.

With his other hand he flicked off the bedside lamp and lay in the semi-darkness with Jackie next to him and their baby still wriggling in her tummy between them. For a fucked up situation he was actually starting to dig it. He could get used to this; sleeping with a hot girl, in a comfy bed, in a proper bedroom. But as he watched the shadows dance across the ceiling he told himself none of it was real. Tomorrow Rosa would be home, tomorrow Jackie wouldn't need him, and tomorrow Kelso would no doubt still be hanging around. All Hyde had to look forward to tomorrow was his cot in the basement.

He sighed, trying hard not to let his chest rise too much and annoy Jackie, and kissed the top of her head. Sure he was going home tomorrow, but he could still savour having her in his arms tonight.

Jackie stirred and looked up at him. "Thank you, Steven," she said sleepily. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

He stroked her silky hair off her forehead. "Well you wouldn't be pregnant that's for sure."

"Meh," she shrugged, "maybe it's not such a bad thing anymore. My family's gone...but at least I have this little one to look forward to."

"Correction," Hyde stated, kissing her head again. " _We_ have this little one to look forward to."

* * *

 **A/N: So that was a bit of a filler chapter, a little insight into Hyde's changing feelings and how Jackie's holding up at school. Wasn't the most interesting but thought I should just let it go n update. Next chapter will have a bit more drama for y'all with a touch of JH lovin'.**

 **Thanks for reviewing xx**


	15. Chapter 15

Donna shoved another garbage bag into her closet and turned to look at Jackie who was waiting to pass her another one. "Seriously, Jackie?" the redhead asked. "There is honestly no more room in here for those."

"Well _make_ room," Jackie demanded, pushing the bag into her friend's arms.

"And how exactly do you expect me to do? Blink once n magically install a walk-in closet?" Donna dropped the bag to the floor, ignoring the gasp coming from her friend. "Look, Jackie," she said, pointing to the bags and pushchair which now filled every inch of space in the place where she used to hang her clothes. "I cannot, _repeat cannot_ , get anymore of your stuff in there. I've already moved my shoes n clothes, what more can I do?"

Jackie glanced at the closet before doing a quick scan of the bedroom. Donna was right, she really did need to install a walk-in closet, there just wasn't any space left in her tiny room. "You could ditch this desk," she suggested, running a finger along the wooden table. "I mean, you have a bed, just do your homework there."

"I'm not gettin' rid of my desk so that you have somewhere to put your baby crib," Donna sternly said. "Can't you just ask the Forman's if you can put it in their garage? I'm sure they won't mind."

"Donna, you know what happened at Christmas time...I can't possibly ask them to store my baby stuff after what I said to them. That'd be rude."

"Ooohh, is someone feeling...dare I say it...guilty?" Donna asked, a wicked grin crossing her face as she flopped down on her bed. "I never thought I'd see the day when Jackie Burkhart felt guilty."

Jackie narrowed her eyes at Donna. Yes, she did feel guilty. She felt so guilty that every time she thought about the Formans a weird, sick feeling would come over her causing her to curse herself out loud. Even her new practically-an-orphan status hadn't seemed to wash away the guilt. She still felt more sorry for Mrs. Forman than she did herself. And it was annoying the hell out of her.

"Maybe a little," she confessed, lying down next to her friend. "I mean, Mrs. Forman clearly loved that tatty old thing and while I don't love old, worthless pieces of crap I probably wouldn't like it if someone didn't appreciate something I loved. So I guess I could've used a little more tact when I refused her offer."

"A little?" Donna raised an eyebrow. "You could've used _some_. I mean, Kitty is so freaking excited about this baby n you pretty much told her that she's not good enough for it-"

"Not her," Jackie corrected, "just her stuff."

Donna shook her head. "Pretty much the same thing for someone like Kitty."

Tears stung Jackie's eyes and she turned her head away from Donna, her gaze landing on the Janis Joplin poster hanging on the wall. She didn't like Janis, at all. The woman was way too rock, way too tomboyish for Jackie. Ladies should be ladies, that's what her mother had always told her. Donna liked rock chicks though. So did Hyde. _Two peas in a pod_ Jackie thought, pulling her cashmere sweater over her hand and discretely wiping her eyes. Hyde and Donna liked the same things, had very similar ideas about the world, and both knew how to make Jackie feel like complete and utter shit.

"I get it, Donna," she said, frowning at Janis's image. "Steven's already told me what a bitch I am, you don't need to keep rubbing it in."

A hand quickly wrapped around hers on the bed. "God, Jackie, I'm sorry." Donna's tone was urgent with remorse. "I didn't mean to upset you...I wasn't even thinking...God, you shouldn't have to worry about all that stuff on top of the stuff with your dad...sorry..."

"It's cool," Jackie sniffed.

"You sound like Hyde," Donna gently teased, squeezing Jackie's hand. "Speaking of Hyde...What's it like playing house with him? You two arguing about who left the wet towel on the bathroom floor yet?"

"We aren't playing house, gigantour," Jackie growled. "He's just looking out for me while I'm on my own. And I don't know why everyone's making such a big deal about it...we're friends n friends look out for each other."

"But you're also friends who do the sneaky behind the rest of your friend's backs. And you also happen to be friends who're having a baby together. You can't tell me nothing's going on between you two."

"Donna, I'm telling you nothing's going on between me n Steven."

Donna propped herself up so her back was against the wall and looked down at Jackie. She was getting serious. She wanted the dirt. Lucky for Jackie she had no dirt to give.

"Midget, I saw the way he was looking at you when he brought you here after school. He was practically drooling after you up the hallway. Something's happening...Hyde doesn't drool over anyone."

"Well," Jackie said, putting her hands on her belly, "we may have been sleeping in the same bed and there may have been some cuddling n spooning going on -" Donna's eyes lit up and her mouth opened wide but before she could speak Jackie swiftly smacked a hand over her mouth. "- but that's it, Donna," she reiterated. "We have cuddled but we have not done anything else so I'd appreciate it if you'd get your dirty little head out of the gutter."

When Jackie removed her hand from Donna's big trap she could tell her best friend was chomping to say something so she closed her eyes and waited.

"Hyde _cuddles_?" Donna asked as if she'd just scored the scoop of the century. "Huh, who would've thought big broody Hyde was a cuddler? I can't wait to tell-"

"Oh, you won't be telling Eric," Jackie warned. "If you do I'll be sure to let him know where you've moved your diary to, and don't think I don't know where it is. I've already read about your boring date last night to the planetarium. God, shoot me if I ever get a boyfriend who thinks a visit to the planetarium is even remotely interesting."

Donna looked sternly at Jackie, her cheeks flushed from the revelation that sometime in the last hour the brunette had managed to find and read her personal journal. Jackie raised an eyebrow, sure she might be pregnant, sure she might be going through a hard time, but that didn't mean she didn't know how to snoop out a diary and have a good - albeit boring - read.

After a moment Donna's temptation to lash out at Jackie passed, instead she sighed, her head falling back on the wall. "Well I guess you don't have to worry about that," she said, pulling at a crease on the knee of her jeans. "Hyde hates the planetarium, he won't be taking you there anytime soon."

"Steven? What's he got to do with anything?"

"You said to shoot you if you ever had a boyfriend who found the planetarium interesting and I'm saying you're okay coz Hyde doesn't."

Jackie pushed herself up onto her elbows and stared up at Donna. "Steven isn't my boyfriend, Donna. Not now, not ever."

"Yeah but-"

"Yeah but nothing," Jackie said, shaking her head slowly. "That ship has well and truly sailed. Sure, a couple of weeks ago I thought him and I could make a real go of things, but now -" she fell back on the bed and returned her hands to her stomach, " - but now I've realised that Steven was right all along...we're too different. Everything with us is drama, drama, drama, and I've got enough of that in my life right now without adding pining after him to the mix. We're good as friends. Just friends."

"Friends who cuddle-"

Suddenly the door burst open and Hyde appeared looking frazzled. "Friends who cuddle?" he grinned looking at Donna then at Jackie. "I could get into that."

"Heard you already did," Donna teased, swiftly wiping the grin off Hyde's face.

He glanced over at Jackie, clearing his throat and ignoring Donna's comment. "You ready?" he asked. "Plane gets in at 7 so I thought we could go see the Forman's before we head to Kenosha."

"What?" Donna said as Jackie swung her legs off of the bed and slipped her feet into her boots. "You never told me your mom was coming back tonight."

"She's not." Jackie wouldn't look at Donna, instead she hurried to Hyde's side and felt instantly calmed by his hand on her lower back.

"But Hyde just said you're going to the air-"

"Rosa," Hyde quickly said with a sharp nod of his head. "We'll catch ya later, Donna."

Jackie smiled. "Thanks for today. I'll call you tomorrow yeah?"

"Anytime, midget," Donna smiled back as Hyde led Jackie down the hallway.

...

"I really don't wanna do this right now," Jackie moaned, hoping the accompanying pout would let her off the hook and maybe instead steer her and Hyde to the Hub.

Hyde quickened his pace across the Forman's driveway. "I know you don't but trust me, once it's done you'll feel better."

"I promise I'll come tomorrow. Let's just do it tomorrow."

"No, Jackie." Hyde stopped walking and turned around just before they reached the patio. "We're here now so you're doin' it now. Can't keep puttin' it off, man."

Jackie pouted again, just in case he'd missed the first one. "Pweeease don't make me-"

"I'll buy you somethin' shiny afterwards..."

"Really?" Jackie's eyes lit up at the thought of a present. What would Hyde possibly buy her that was shiny? She didn't take him for much of a jewellery person. Jewellery carried far too much sentimentality for someone like Hyde to gift so casually. Perhaps a key ring? She'd seen some gorgeous cubic zirconia encrusted key rings at the mall recently. The tiny faux diamonds decorated the letters of the alphabet and she could just picture herself with a J one in her hand, the sunlight reflecting off all the razzle dazzle. Yeah, it had to be a key ring. She smiled at the thought. "So you'll buy me something shiny if I go in right now?"

Hyde nodded. "Yip".

"Oh my gosh!" Jackie did a little dance on the spot, careful not to slip on the icy driveway. "I'm so excited!"

"So I see," Hyde grinned. "If I'd known you'd dance for me in exchange for a burger wrapped in tin foil I would'a bought you one ages ago."

The smile on Jackie's face disappeared, as did her little driveway jig. "A burger wrapped in foil? That's my shiny present?"

"Hey, I never said anythin' 'bout a present," Hyde replied, holding his hands out in defence. "I just said I'd buy you somethin' shiny. A burger wrapped in tin foil is shiny, n I'm buyin' it."

"You're such a pig, Steven."

"You're such a dreamer, Jackie." Hyde looked over Jackie's shoulder and into the Forman's kitchen. Grabbing her hand he began leading her to the house. "C'mon, there they are."

Jackie felt her face flush red, and it wasn't because of the frosty chill in the air. It was the red of a girl who was utterly embarrassed and horribly mortified. Never, in all her seventeen years, had she had to apologise and actually mean it. Flippant 'sorry's' to her father for scratching up his car were never heart felt. Casual 'sorry's' to her friends when they thought her fashion advice was a bit harsh were mere lip service. Any sorry she'd said to Kelso after her pregnancy was discovered was only said to shut him up and stop him crying.

But this sorry, to the Formans, was from the bottom of her heart. This sorry meant something. Two weeks without seeing them had felt like two years and she wanted things to go back to how they used to be. She needed somewhere stable to go amongst all the chaos, especially when the baby arrived.

"Hey Mrs. Forman, Red," Hyde said as he pulled Jackie into the kitchen and shut the sliding door. "We got a visitor."

Kitty was standing by the refrigerator fixing Red's tie, something he didn't look too happy about. Both of them were dressed up, clearly off out which Jackie found odd. It wasn't often the Formans went anywhere, except maybe to Bob's to play cards. But Kitty wouldn't be wearing her favourite green dress if she were only going next door and Red certainly wouldn't be coaxed into wearing a tie for a night of cards with his frizzy haired neighbour.

Kitty turned around and her eyes widened. "Jackie!" she cried. She reached out her arms and rushed over to Jackie, pulling her into a warm embrace. "Oh, sweetheart, how are you?"

Jackie could barely breathe, not because the hug was too tight, but because she was suddenly overcome with emotion. She closed her eyes, her head on the older woman's shoulder. She needed this, to be held by a mother. Pity it wasn't her own mother.

"I'm okay, Mrs. Forman," she assured Kitty.

Kitty pulled away and cupped Jackie's face in her little hands. "Really, honey?" she asked, tilting her head to the side as though she was examining Jackie's face for any trace of sadness. "Because I don't think you are. Going through all this business with your father in your condition, only to have your mother not come home straight away...well, I just don't see how you can be okay. I bet you haven't been eating -" she checked her watch, "- and it just so happens I have half an hour before the party starts, I'll fix you something to eat right now." She pulled Jackie to the table and sat her down. "You sit right here."

"No, Mrs. Forman, you don't need to make me anything. I'm fine," Jackie protested.

Kitty looked at her and then at her husband who was still standing by the fridge drinking a beer. "Red," she said. "Does she look fine to you?" He shrugged. "Because I don't think she does. I think I need to feed her before we go anywhere."

"Suits me," Red said as Kitty tied an apron around her waist. "I don't wanna go to this damn party anyway. Why would I want to spend my free time with people I'm forced to work with every, single day? They should be paying me to go n listen to their crap."

"We're going because that man has worked at Price Mart for 27 years and now he's retiring. He needs a good send off, Red," Kitty said, searching the fridge for something to cook.

Red shook his head and looked at the ceiling. "Well I didn't ask him to work there for 27 years so why should I have to give him a good send off? I don't care what the man does...stay, leave, it makes no difference to me."

Sighing, Kitty put a hand on her hip and looked at her husband. She opened her mouth to speak before quickly closing it again. Instead of reminding Red why he should care about his co-workers she handed him a fresh beer and turned her attention to the pregnant girl sitting at the kitchen table. "Steak, Jackie? Nice n juicy, loaded with iron. How does that sound?"

Before Jackie could answer Hyde stepped forward. "Mrs. Forman, you don't needa cook for us. I'm takin' Jackie out to eat after this."

"Course you are!" Red scoffed. "No money, kid on the way, but still treating yourself to meals out. Y'know when I was your age I was eating cold beans out of can while dodging commie bullets."

"Were you eatin' 'em with your fingers?" Hyde asked with a smirk.

"Shut it, dumbass."

"Well, dinner out sounds nice." Kitty smiled nervously as she untied her apron and hung it neatly on the kitchen rail. "I'm sure after the last few days you've had a meal out would do you some good," she said to Jackie. "Don't you think, Red? Don't you think Jackie deserves to go out and enjoy herself?"

Red shrugged and gulped his beer.

Hyde smiled. "Oh we're not goin' out out. Just pickin' up a couple burgers on our way to Kenosha."

"Kenosha?" Red asked, furrowing his brow. "What are you two going to Kenosha for? It's forecast to snow later, which you'd know if you bothered checking the weather report before making hair brained plans about driving out of town."

Hyde walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a soda. "Just goin' to pick up Rosa from the airport. I'm not drunk, I won't speed, n I'll be sure to check my rear view mirror every 3 seconds. We'll be safe as houses, Red."

"Heard that before," Red grumbled. "You just remember you have a pregnant girl in that car with you-"

"How can I forget," Hyde sighed. "She doesn't stop flappin' her trap."

Jackie chose to ignore Hyde's comment and smiled when Red began giving him a lecture about tyre tread and safe travelling distances. That was a far greater punishment than anything she could've dished out. Besides, this gave her the perfect opportunity to apologise to Kitty in semi-private.

"Mrs. Forman," she started, feeling slightly nervous when Kitty looked at her.

"Yes, honey?"

Jackie chewed on the inside of her cheek as she scrambled to find the right words to say. Apologies just weren't her forte.

"Mrs. Forman," she started again, "I want to say sorry. I'm sorry for being so rude at Christmas time when you gave Steven and I the crib n stuff for the baby. I hurt you...and...well, I feel terrible."

Kitty's eyebrows arched up but the corners of her mouth drooped. She was somewhere between smiling and crying and Jackie prayed it was the former not the latter.

"Oh, Jackie-" Kitty's hand covered her heart, "- thank you. It's very sweet of you to say you're sorry but I don't want you worrying about that business anymore. You have enough going on without worrying about an old lady and her feelings!" She laughed and moved her hand to cover Jackie's on the table. "You think after all the years I've spent living with Red and my kids that I'd let your comments get me down? I don't think so!"

Jackie smiled, wanting to believe Kitty but knowing deep down the woman really was hurt. "No, Mrs. Forman, what I said was rude and disrespectful and I shouldn't have said it. If the crib's still up for offer I'd love it if we could set it up here for the baby. Only if that's okay with you?"

Kitty's eyes lit up and she bounced in her seat. "Of course it's okay with me!" she said before frowning. "But only if you really want it, honey? You don't have to use it just to make me happy..."

"I want it," Jackie assured her. "It's a beautiful crib and Mr. Forman did such a good job fixing it up. We'd be honoured to have our baby sleep in it."

"Well I'll get Red to get it back out tomorrow," Kitty practically squealed. "I'll spend next week sorting out Laurie's old room and we'll set it up in there for when the baby comes to Nanny Kitty and Grandpa Red's to stay. Oh, it'll be lovely!"

Jackie sat back in her chair relieved. The weight that had just been lifted off of her shoulders felt amazing. Delivering a simple, heart felt apology had significantly cheered her up mostly because the recipient of that apology was positively beaming. She felt warm all over as Kitty rattled off a list of things she had to do to prepare the room for the baby's visits. Her baby had a family here at the Forman's. People who wanted to be around it. People who already loved it.

There was so much more waiting for the baby at the Forman's dinky house than at the Burkhart manor right now.

"Now, Jackie." Kitty's expression turned serious. "Please tell me that you feeling bad about the crib isn't the reason we haven't seen you here lately? I'd hate to think you've been avoiding us because of that?"

Jackie felt her cheeks turn pink. "Well, maybe a little..."

Kitty lips drooped again, as did her eyes. "Oh, honey! I wondered why Steven wouldn't bring you here the other day. I told him you should've been here with us until Rosa came home. Sweetie, you're always welcome here...you're family."

"Really?" Jackie knew she sounded like a six year old who'd just been told she was getting a puppy but she didn't care. She'd been an orphan for two days and was already over it so being told she had a family was pretty exciting news.

"Really," Kitty smiled.

Neither of them heard the phone ringing, but Red did. "Loud one," he stated, clearly annoyed at having to cut short his driving lecture. "Phone's for you. It's your floo-, uhhh, it's your mother."

Jackie stood up enthusiastically and rushed to the phone. Rosa was coming home; Mrs. Forman had just forgiven her _and_ told her she was part of the family; and now, to top it all off, her mother had finally called!

Life was finally looking a little brighter.

...

Hyde rifled through his drawer looking for his tin. The Forman's had left for their party and Jackie was on the phone to her bitch of a mother so he figured he may as well go and roll up a couple of fat ones ready for later on. It'd been three days since his last smoke...three long days. Surprisingly his abstinence wasn't because of anything Jackie had said, he'd just been too busy to even think about hitting it. But tonight, once Jackie and Rosa were safely dropped off, he was gonna indulge.

God knows after the week he'd had he needed it.

After finding the tin he grabbed a magazine to roll his film on and sat down on the cot deciding that while he'd definitely missed his film he'd in no way missed that damn cot. Hopefully getting blazed would take the pain away from his return to the crappy bed. Hopefully if he was out of his mind he wouldn't care that he was sleeping alone with no brunette curls in his face.

Hopefully.

He licked the thin paper encasing the first joint and sighed. Once Jackie and Rosa were dropped home he'd make it his mission to find Eric and Kelso and hit it hard. No point searching out Fez; after the Christmas Eve dance fiasco that little foreigner was laying low on weekends, so tonight would be a three man show with plenty of green stuff.

Yip. After a night out with the boys he'd forget all about his cosy couple of nights with Jackie. He just needed a little normality in his life.

As he ran the joint under his nose the familiar smell grew more and more enticing but when the door burst open revealing a distraught looking Jackie he quickly dropped it to the bed.

"What happened?" he redundantly asked. Of course he already knew the answer. Pamela Burkhart happened.

"She...she...she's not coming home..." Jackie fell onto the cot next to him, wrapping her arms around his bicep, her wet tears immediately soaking through his thin sweater.

"Like, ever?"

"Well... soo ...sooner or... later she'll... have to come back," she said between loud sobs that seemed to penetrate through Hyde's chest and into his heart. "She wo...wouldn't give uuu...up her clothes and jewellery for anything. But she's not coming home now...for me."

Hyde's fist clenched on his thigh. Fuck he hated Pam. Fuck he hated seeing Jackie cry.

Fuck he hated that he didn't know what to do or say to make her feel better.

Jackie clutched onto him tighter. "Wh...why is she doing this to me?" she wept. "Why doesn't she care?"

 _Because she's a selfish bitch,_ Hyde thought, keeping that particular trinket to himself. He knew that deep down Jackie already knew her mother sucked but she had to be ready to come to terms with that fact on her own. Hyde saying it out loud wasn't gonna help her any.

He gently pulled his arm out of her grip and instead wrapped it around her shoulders. She looked up at him, her bloodshot eyes filled with such deep sadness that it made him want to turn away. But he didn't. "I dunno, Jackie," he softly said. "Just try n forget about her, man. You got Rosa comin' home soon, just focus on that."

"No I don't," she whispered before burying her head in Hyde's chest.

"What?"

It took ten minutes, _ten whole minutes,_ for Jackie to calm down enough to explain to Hyde what'd happened on the phone, and by the time she had he was seething. Rosa was stuck at the airport, snowed in, and hadn't been able to get a hold of Jackie being that Jackie was at Donna's. The little Mexican, worried about the young girl she cared so much about, had tracked Pam the floozy down at her hotel in Brazil and had asked her to get a hold of Jackie and let her know she probably wouldn't get home until at least tomorrow. Pam had done as instructed and found Jackie but had also added in the side order of 'I don't give a crap about you and won't be home for a while even though there is no snow stopping me from getting back'...well, those weren't the exact words Pam had said, they were more Hyde's translation of her feeble explanation. But it didn't matter to him what she'd precisely said, all he knew was that Jackie was crying all over him because the older Burkhart was a selfish cow.

"Fuck her, Jackie," was all he could say when her tears had finally dried.

Jackie stood up and stared into the small mirror hanging on his wall. She turned to him. "Well there's not much else I can do now is there?" The redness that had overcome her face in her earlier despair had subsided a little and now rather than hurt she looked angry. Hyde smiled a little, deciding angry suited her much better than helpless.

"Guess not," he shrugged, picking up the forgotten joint lying next to his pillow. "Pity you can't do this, huh? Gotta say it helped me tremendously when my mom skipped out on me."

The right side of Jackie's lip curved up. "Would be nice," she mused, still looking in the mirror pressing her fingertips under her swollen eyes. "But the fleeting joy wouldn't be worth a lifetime of having a kid all scrawny like Eric."

"Ain't that the truth." Hyde slipped the joint back into the tin, on one hand lamenting the fact he wouldn't be smoking it tonight, on the other hand feeling rather pleased about Jackie's misfortune...after all, no Rosa meant he got another night with Jackie in his arms. "Hey, tell ya what," he said prompting Jackie to turn around. "How's about instead of grabbin' a takeaway burger we go to the Hub n actually eat it there? It'll be like I'm takin' you out for dinner, you girls like that crap don't ya?"

Much to his surprise Jackie scrunched up her nose and sighed. "That's really nice of you, Steven, but I don't really feel like going out n seeing people tonight...I mean look at me...I'm a mess. The Hub will be packed n everyone will have a right laugh at me-"

"No they won't, I won't let 'em."

"I really don't want to see anyone tonight...I think I'd rather stay in."

Hyde shrugged, that was the last time he was ever offering to take a chick out. "Whatever."

Jackie slowly walked toward Hyde, stopping right in front of him. She bent down and placed her hands on his knees, pushing her body between his legs. "You're really sweet, Steven," she said quietly, her big eyes staring straight into his.

"No I'm not," he replied, feeling uncomfortable by her close proximity. It wasn't that he wasn't used to being close to her, he'd been sleeping right next to her the last two nights after all. It was just that this encounter felt different...strange. Her hands were running up and down his thighs and her eyes were piercing into him, almost seductively. How did she turn from a blubbering mess into this within minutes?

"Steven," she said, drawing herself up so her face was mere centimetres from his, "I don't wanna be around anyone else tonight...just you..."

"Uh, okay. We'll pick up the burgers n go back to yours, watch a movie or somethin'."

"No -" Jackie swung a leg over Hyde's lap, straddling him on the narrow cot, " - I want _you_ , Steven."

Hyde dragged in a breath as she wrapped her arms around his neck. His arousal for her was instantaneous, just like it always was, and he wanted her so bad. She was perfectly made; her big doe eyes, her little button nose, her cute little pout, her smoking hot body...everything about her was perfect. Even her once annoying as hell personality was growing on him, no matter how much he tried to kill the growth. He wanted her. But he also knew she wasn't in a good place right now.

"Jackie," he said as her moist lips found his neck. "What are you doin'? You said after Christmas that it was a mistake..." He cringed when he remembered his Christmas seduction and it's less than jolly fallout. He couldn't risk another near-fatal aftermath like that one. He wanted her in his life as much for himself as the baby, and the less complicated their relationship was the better. Even though her tongue ministrations were feeling better than any circle right at that moment.

"Steven, please," she whispered against his neck while her hands began removing his sweatshirt. "I need you...now."

He closed his eyes as she pulled the fabric up and over his head. If he looked at her he'd crumble. If he looked at her he'd want her as much as he did over summer. Actually, if he looked at her he'd probably want her _more_ than he had over summer. Slowly but surely she'd managed to creep into his head and, he feared, was now beginning to burrow in his heart and he wasn't sure he could keep fighting her advances.

Especially when she was on his lap sucking his neck.

"Jackie," he moaned, his eyes opening much to his dismay, "maybe we should talk about this?" Fuck, no film for three days had turned him into Forman. He was shirtless, with a hot chick in his lap begging for it and he was telling her they needed to talk. He wanted to kick his own ass for being such a girl.

Jackie gazed up at him. "I don't wanna talk, Steven," she said, tracing her finger across his lower lip. "I want you to kiss me and fuck me -"

Hyde's breath caught when he heard her use the term she so openly despised. "Jackie," he growled as her eyes narrowed.

"What? Don't you want me? Aren't I pretty enough for you?" She moved her mouth to his ear and lightly nibbled on his earlobe while her hands ran up and down his bare chest. "Don't you find me attractive anymore?" she whispered almost breathlessly against his cheek.

Hyde's hands moved to her hips, his thumbs finding the bare skin between her top and skirt. "Yeah, I want you," he conceded, pushing her body down harder on his lap. "You're beautiful."

He hated that she saw this side of him; the one that so openly and readily wanted her. But he couldn't help it. She was driving him crazy and he was helpless to stop her.

She looked at him, her once sad eyes softened in pleasure. "Am I really?" she asked as she began fumbling with Hyde's belt buckle. "Do you really want me?"

Hyde's face was buried in her sweet smelling neck and when she tilted her head back to give him better access he stroked the length of her neck roughly with his tongue causing her to grind her body harder against him. He wanted her alright.

Sliding his hands up her thighs and under her skirt he maneuvered her into a laying position on the cot. "Fuck yeah, Jackie," he murmured against her mouth. "I want you."


	16. Chapter 16

_**A/N: So very sorry for the delay in updating. I struggled through this chapter...never quite happy with it, unsure whether to scrap it altogether. But I have finally decided to just post it so that I can move on. One thing to know - there is a point to it which I'll tell you about at the end.**_

 _ **Thanks to my fabulous reviewers...I can never say it enough - you really do spur on my writing and I sincerely apologise to you for the late update. x**_

* * *

Frequent trips to the bathroom were becoming the thing Jackie despised more than anything about pregnancy. Weight gain sucked. As did heartburn. But those side-effects weren't forcing her to get out of bed early on freezing winter mornings. The over-whelming urge to empty her bladder was.

Propping herself up she scanned the topped of the bed looking for something she could throw on to make her bathroom dash. When all she saw was the crumpled duvet and discarded pillows she cursed herself for going to sleep naked and not being pre-prepared for her morning bathroom run. Tumbling around naked with Hyde beneath the sheets was one thing - scampering unclothed in all her pregnancy glory in the cold light of day was another matter entirely.

Before Jackie had a chance to check the floor for something she could use as a toga, a large, warm hand crept around her stomach, effectively stopping her search.

"Morning," Hyde mumbled sleepily.

Jackie rolled over to look at him. His eyes were still closed, his hair was a tangled mess of curls, but a satisfied smile lurked heavily on his face. "Good morning, Steven," she said as he snuggled into her side. "Hey, don't go getting too comfortable, I have to go to the bathroom. This kid of yours will be the death of me if it keeps jumping on my bladder every five minutes."

Hyde chuckled, his hand easily finding the area their baby was kicking the crap out of. "Kung-fu fighter or football player, I just know it."

"Oh, you don't know anything. I'm telling you it's a girl and no girl of mine is doing either of those things." Jackie sat up and peered over the side of the bed, immediately spotting Hyde's sweatshirt. When she reached for it she was careful not to let him see her breasts or the two ugly stretch marks that had appeared on her stomach. They were disgusting. She felt disgusting. No other girl on the cheer squad had stretch marks. Bitches.

"Jackie, stop being so self-conscious." Hyde tugged at the blankets covering her body. "I saw everything last night remember...three times I might add." He winked, Jackie frowned.

"It was dark last night, so you didn't see _everything-_ "

"I _felt_ everything then, and it _felt_ really good so why don't you hurry up n go to the bathroom n get back here so we can carry on doin' what we were doin' last night?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Not happening, buddy," she said, jumping off the bed before he could stop her. "It's almost 8 and I want to take a shower n get cleaned up here before we pick Rosa up from the airport. I suggest you start making a move outta there too."

Hyde groaned. "Have you heard the weather report? Has the snow even cleared?"

"I dunno," Jackie shrugged. "I hope so." Consumed with excitement at the prospect of Rosa coming back she almost missed the frown on Hyde's face. What did he have to frown about? Didn't he like Rosa? Didn't he want to know Jackie was being looked after. "Hey -" she tugged on the duvet to get his attention, " - what's wrong with you? Aren't you happy Rosa's back today? You get to go home to Eric and your tin...I know you've been missing them."

Hyde pulled the floral duvet up under his chin, burrowing his head into the soft pillow. "Jackie, why would I wanna go back there? Have you seen my room? As much as it kills me to admit it I'm gettin' kinda used to all of this."

Jackie followed his gaze around the immaculately designed guest bedroom. It was a nice room, even by her high standards. Textured wallpaper, plush carpeting, a love seat perched beneath a bay window, and a large four poster bed... it was a five star hotel room compared to where Hyde slept.

"You could still come n stay sometimes," Jackie offered. "I mean, I'm sure Rosa wouldn't care and with the baby coming n all I'll probably need you around."

Hyde chuckled. "After the note we left Red last night I think it's safe to say I won't be stayin' anywhere anytime soon," he reminded her. "By the time he's done with me I'll be co-author of Eric's book 'Things My Father Threatened to Put in my Ass'. It's not gonna be pretty."

Jackie had forgotten all about the note. After successfully bedding Hyde the night before she'd begged him to take her back to her house. He'd tried to tell her that they were pushing it with Red; that the old man had been reluctant to let Hyde stay for two nights, so three would surely be pushing it. But a few warm kisses and strokes in the right places had convinced her scruffy orphan boy that going back to the Burkhart house was better than staying at the Forman's. Jackie sighed as she recalled the lame note Hyde had scribbled in their eagerness to leave. She was pretty sure that 'Staying at Jackie's' written on the back of an old supermarket receipt, left on the kitchen table would not have cut it with Red. Thinking back on it now Jackie was counting herself lucky Red hadn't marched over in the middle of the night and put a foot in both their asses.

She chewed on her lip and looked down at him with her best puppy dog eyes, sorry that she'd gotten him into trouble with Red _again._ "Oh yeah...that probably wasn't our best move," she admitted. "God, I hope you're not in too much trouble when you get home."

"Don't worry 'bout me," Hyde assured her, burrowing further into the blankets. "I'm sure the grounding will be lifted by the time the kid's born."

"I hope so, but I doubt it," Jackie smiled before finally making her bathrrom dash.

...

An hour later Jackie pulled the curling iron out of her last bang and turned it off. She'd made a real effort with her appearance today, partly because of Rosa's return and partly because she was sick of looking like a fat, pathetic slob. Glossy curls, subtle but effective eye-make, and just the right amount of blush had her looking picture perfect - well, until she stood up and caught the reflection of her rounded belly in the mirror. Groaning, she turned from side to side, just in case there was a more flattering angle she hadn't yet discovered. There wasn't.

 _Thank god for elastic,_ she thought, pulling at the thick waistband of her skirt sitting just under her stomach. While elasticated waistbands weren't exactly high fashion, Jackie was fairly confident that she was pulling them off okay. Teaming her little plaid mini-skirts with stockings and boots seemed to be working, so much so that she'd actually seen a couple of cheerleader bitches wearing similar ensembles at school recently. Jackie appreciated their imitation but wished they'd extend it to getting pregnant, at least then she wouldn't be the only pregnant teenager in town.

The only fat, pregnant, orphan teenager in town...god, even if another seventeen year old did get pregnant the likelihood of that teen's father getting arrested was slim to none. Jackie was destined to hold the loser crown forever.

As she pulled on her boots, the sound of Led Zeppelin and the smell of bacon wafted upstairs, making her tummy rumble and her jaw clench. Why couldn't Hyde listen to happy music in the mornings? Just because he liked to shroud himself in angst it didn't mean she should be subjected to his misery. Really, the more she thought about it, the more Jackie decided that it wasn't the absence of friends, a waistline and her parents stifling her mood; she was feeling low because of all the recent exposure to Led Zeppelin and their dreary wallowings she'd been forced to listen to. It was all Steven's fault. He was making her miserable.

Except that he wasn't.

Especially not last night.

Last night he was exactly what she'd needed.

"God, Steven," Jackie moaned pushing the kitchen swinging door open and thoughts of Steven in her arms out of her head, "why do we have to listen to this depressing music in the mornings? It's not very uplifting, geez even your hyperactive child has fallen asleep out of boredom."

Hyde looked up from the stove and raised an eyebrow. "Jackie, I've told you time n time again that you don't know shit about music so shut your pie hole."

"Charming way to speak to your baby's mother," she growled as she sidled up next to him, more concerned with the bacon sizzling in the pan than the music. "Is it nearly done? I'm starving."

"Should'a let me buy you that burger last night, huh? Then maybe you wouldn't be salivating all over this here pan."

Jackie frowned and discretely licked her lips. "How could I have eaten a burger last night? You couldn't stop shoving your tongue down my throat, no food was getting past your mouth."

"Oh, really?" Hyde raised an eyebrow, a smirk crossing his face. "See I kinda remember it differently. The way I recall it is you-"

"Oh shut up, Steven," Jackie said, slapping his shoulder, embarrassed that his recollection would be closer to the truth. "Just gimme my breakfast before I pass out."

She sat down at the kitchen counter, ignoring Hyde's knowing smile. When he placed a plate of bacon, eggs, and toast in front of her she immediately dug in. Skipping dinner for sex certainly did have it's downside.

"So-" Hyde sat down next to her with his own plate, "-about last night...you think, ah...maybe we needa talk about it?"

Jackie chewed her food slowly. No, she didn't want to talk about their night together. Talking to Steven about their previous hook ups had never boded well before and right now she couldn't deal with any more arguments or turmoil in her life. Today was meant to be a good day. Rosa was coming home. Jackie was not risking a fight with Hyde and ruining it all. Last night was what it was...a hook up between friends. One that didn't need to be dissected over breakfast.

"Ummmm, no," she said before sipping her juice. "I don't think we need to talk about it."

Hyde looked at her surprised then cleared his throat. "Oh...yeah, nothin' to talk about right? Just thought, y'know, that you might wanna talk about it-"

"I'm good," Jackie smiled, poking her eggs with her fork. "I mean, we're friends right?"

"Yeah, course we're friends."

"And we're both okay with what happened and it's not gonna change anything between us is it?" Jackie's gaze rose, catching Hyde's. His eyes were unshielded and radiated a warmth she wasn't sure she'd seen before. Her heart sped up a little before she told herself to calm down. His look didn't mean anything. Last night didn't mean anything. They were just friends and she wanted it to stay that way, especially for the baby.

"Well, if you wanted things to change I could be open-"

The piercing ring of the phone interrupted Hyde's sentence and Jackie jumped off her seat to answer it, a little relieved their awkward conversation was now over. Things were already too messy in her life and an 'are we, aren't we' relationship with Hyde would just lead to absolute chaos. As far as she knew the guy had never had a girlfriend before and she wasn't going to be his practise run - especially not when she was 6 months pregnant and an orphan.

When she hung up the phone Hyde was already halfway through the washing up. ""Who was it?" he asked as Jackie sat back down to finish her breakfast.

"Rosa. Her plane gets in at 11.35! I can't wait! I wonder if she's bringing me a present? She usually does..."

Hyde turned to her, frowning. "11.35? I start work at 10, I told you that. Why didn't you tell her to get a later flight, man?"

"I can drive to get her, it's no problem," Jackie shrugged.

"Ah, yeah it is," Hyde said, leaning over the counter. "Roads are icy as hell, I don't want you driving all that way by yourself."

"I'm a good driver, Steven-"

"Tell that to Kelso's van." Hyde winced when Jackie's sharp nails dug into his forearm before saying, "Look, why don't you get Donna to drive to Kenosha with you? Least then you'll have some company n an extra set of eyes."

"No, I don't need an extra set of eyes and if Donna comes she'll keep changing the radio station," Jackie scoffed. "Besides, I read in her diary yesterday that Bob and Joanne are going to Joanne's mom's 70th in Milwaukee so Donna and Eric are planning on doing gross stuff to each other all day-" she shuddered, her fork falling onto her plate, "- ew just the thought makes me wanna hurl."

Hyde rolled his eyes but agreed. "Yeah, it's pretty gross, which is why you should put a spanner in their works n call Donna to go with you."

"Nah, if it'll make you feel any better I'll call Fez n see if he wants to come."

"That doesn't make me feel any better. His drivin' is just as bad, if not worse than yo-"

Jackie's nails hovered precariously over Hyde's still red forearm. "Say it, Steven, I dare you..."

"Just call Donna," Hyde sighed. He picked up her empty plate and put it in the sink. "Not Fez, _definitely_ not Kelso, just Donna."

"Fine," Jackie said in resignation. "But if she puts her sausage fingers anywhere near that radio dial I'm kicking her out onto the highway. My car, my rules."

* * *

...

* * *

 _12.05_

 _The Same Day_

Hyde pulled the Camino into a park outside the hotel and rubbed his temples. He'd never been one for headaches but ever since Jackie had told him she was pregnant he seemed to be getting them more and more. Some people would probably tell him it was because he was under stress, or some other lame excuse like that. But he was Steven Hyde; he didn't get stressed, ever. Sometimes he was troubled, maybe at a stretch things bothered him, but he didn't get stressed.

Not even when his damn history tutorial made him 5 minutes late for his shift.

"Sorry I'm late," he called out, hanging his jacket on the hook by the kitchen door. "Traffic was a bitch."

"Steven-" the female voice prompted Hyde to peer around the corner and his forehead wrinkled when he saw Mrs. Forman standing next to Roy at the preparation bench.

"Mrs. Forman? What're you doin' here?"

Her hands were clasped together while her thumbs did little circles around each other. Her foot tapped nervously on the tiled floor. She was worried about something and Hyde's first thought was Red.

"Hyde, where've you been, man?" Hyde hadn't even noticed Eric standing by the restaurant door looking just as worried as his mom. Hyde's stomach dropped to the floor. It had to be Red.

"What's going on?" he asked, his eyes darting between Kitty, Roy and Eric. "What's happened?"

Kitty took a step forward. "Steven, we've been looking everywhere for you. Where were you? Jackie told us your shift started at 10 but Roy here tells us you weren't due in 'til 12."

Hyde shrugged. "Had some stuff to do." He looked at Eric. "Is someone gonna tell me what the hell's goin' on? Cause if you're not then you may as well chuck a hairnet on n start peeling these carrots."

The corner of Kitty's mouth drooped and she reached out and put a hand on Hyde's shoulder. "It's Jackie, honey...she's been in an accident..."

"She's what?"

The whole thing was a blur. As Hyde was ushered to the Vista Cruiser Kitty said something about Jackie swerving to avoid a child's ball and hitting a tree. She was okay, his foster mother assured him, just some minor scrapes and bruises, but they were worried about the baby as her stomach had hit the steering wheel pretty hard in the accident. They'd been trying to find him for well over an hour and Kelso and Fez were still looking.

Pity no one thought to check the library.

"So where were you?" Eric asked as he pulled the car out of the hotel carpark. "I swear to god we looked everywhere in this town for you. The Hub, the water tower, your room, basement, every back alley-"

"I was at the library," Hyde stated, his fingers pulling at his bottom lip. He couldn't be fucked talking right now, he just wanted to get to the freaking hospital.

"The library? I didn't know we even had one of those. Where is it?"

Kitty sat forward so her head poked over the back seat. "Oh, Eric, we used to go there all the time when you were a little boy...don't you remember? It's just across from the town hall, behind th-"

Hyde had had enough. "Look, can everyone just be quiet? I just wanna know that Jackie n the kid are alright-" he looked out of the window and noticed Eric was driving in the opposite direction of the hospital, "-where the hell are you goin', man?! Hospital's the other way!"

Again Kitty's hand was on Hyde's shoulder. "Steven, Jackie's been taken to Madison General-"

"What? Why?"

"Well, like I said the doctors were a little concerned about the baby and Madison has better technology there to monitor your little one," Kitty explained, all the while gently patting Hyde's tense shoulders.

Okay, maybe he did get stressed after all.

"What kinda technology? What the hell do they think is wrong with the baby?" His heart was thumping in his chest and the palms of his hands were sweating profusely. Yip, he was feeling the stress alright.

"The machine they want to use on Jackie is called an ultrasound machine, honey," Kitty continued. "What it does is actually very amazing. It can see through Jackie's skin, and through the placenta and look right at the baby! Isn't that something?"

"Yeah, whatever." Hyde really didn't feel that now was the time to marvel at the wonders of modern technology. "So what's it gonna tell us?"

Kitty smiled. "It's going to tell you that your baby is fine, I just know it. The machine will be able to check that there's no organ damage, or damage to baby's brain then Jackie will be free to go home. I'm sure the doctors were just being overly cautious and as the machine is only a short drive away they figured they might as well use it." She patted Hyde's shoulder one more time before sitting back in her seat. "Everything will be a-ok, sweetie."

Hyde involuntarily snorted at her comment. Jackie was in the hospital and the doctors had been concerned enough to send her to a bigger, more equipt hospital. How the hell did anyone in the car know she was gonna be "a-ok"? As they drove down the snowy streets Hyde's mind travelled back to that morning. Back to waking up next to Jackie. Back to feeling their baby turning sommersalts. Back to making her breakfast.

Back to telling her to call Donna.

"Forman?" he said as Eric turned onto the highway.

"Yeah?"

"Was Donna in the car? Is she okay?"

Eric glanced at Hyde, his expression a little bewildered. "No, she wasn't in there. Why would she have been?"

Hyde's fist clenched on his thigh. If he found out Jackie had asked Donna to go with her to Kenosha and been turned down he wasn't sure he'd ever forgive the redhead. "Ah, 'cause I told Jackie to call her n ask her to go with her this morning."

Eric raised a shoulder and shook his head. "Well she never called."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah I'm sure. I was with Donna all morning n the phone never rang. First time it did was when mom called telling us to get to the hospital."

Kitty poked her head back over the seat. "Jackie never mentioned Donna to me, Steven, only when she wanted someone to go in the ambulance with her to Madison. Lucky Donna was there to go with her...poor thing, she was so frightened."

A sharp pain shot through Hyde's chest and he kicked the door. Fucking tutoring...fucking grades. He should've cancelled. He should've driven her to the damn airport.

"Woah, buddy!" Eric swung a hand over, resting it on Hyde's arm. "I know the Cruiser's not much but it's all I got n I need every bit of it. Including the door."

"Sorry, man," Hyde mumbled, his head falling back on the seat. "I just should'a been there. I should'a taken her to the airport then none of this would'a happened."

"Now, Steven," Kitty began, "you can't go blaming yourself. Accidents happen and it's not your fault. Jackie needs you to be strong when we get there so you need to stop punishing yourself and Eric's car and make sure you can be there for her when we get there.

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts," Kitty firmly stated. "Jackie and the baby need you, so no kicking things, punching things, or breaking things...got it?"

"Got it."

After what seemed like hours Eric was finally pulling into Madison General. The second he'd pulled the car into a spot, Hyde bolted, hoping that Kitty's hunch that Jackie would be in the maternity department was right. When he saw a certain redhead flicking through a magazine in the waiting room he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Donna," he said, a little short of breath. "Where is she?"

Donna looked up and as soon as she saw Hyde she tossed the magazine onto the chair next to her and stood up. She actually looked happy to see him. Grabbing his hand she told him to go with her.

"Have you heard anything yet?" Hyde asked as he followed Donna down a long hallway.

She shook her head. "No. They took the machine in there about 5 minutes ago so hopefully you haven't missed anything."

When they reached the door that Donna said was to Jackie's room Hyde suddenly felt apprehensive. "You sure I can go in there?"

"Yeah, you're the dad."

"Yeah but we're not married," Hyde reminded her.

"Who cares?" Donna shrugged. "Jackie told me to send you in there the minute you arrived-"

"She did?" An odd feeling of smugness came over Hyde at Donna's revelation. It felt good to know that Jackie wanted him there, especially because there was nowhere else he'd rather be...no matter the outcome.

"Yeah she did," Donna put her hand on the door, "so get in there."

When Hyde stepped into the room 10 sets of eyes all turned to stare at him. "Ah, hey," he said nervously, unsure whether he should turn and walk back out. A small voice calling "Steven!" stopped him and when a wall of white coats opened he saw Jackie lying on a bed. He quickly made his way over to her. "What's with all the coats?" he asked nobody in particular.

"You must be Mr. Hyde," one of the doctors asked, offering his hand to Hyde who shook it. "I'm Dr. Young and I'll be performing the ultrasound on Jackie today. These here-" he gestured to the other men and women surrounding the bed, "- are some of our other senior and junior doctors and are with us today to see how this machine works. We've only had it a few weeks and haven't had the chance to use it much so Jackie kindly agreed to have an audience while we check on your baby."

"Oh I bet she did," Hyde joked before sitting down in the seat next to Jackie's bed. When the doctors began talking amongst themselves Hyde took the opportunity to properly look at Jackie. A split lip, swollen eyebrow, fairly big but not threatening abrasion on her forehead...she didn't look too bad for someone who'd been in a car accident. He bet she begged to differ however.

"Damn, Jackie," he whispered, taking her hand. "Why did you go on your own, man? You should've taken Donna-"

Jackie sighed and squeezed Hyde's hand. She looked so tired, so beat up, he knew he shouldn't have begun lecturing her. "Steven, even if I'd had Donna with me we still would've been in the accident. Whether she was there or not the kid still would've kicked the ball onto the road and I still would've tried to avoid it. It's just one of those things."

He leaned closer to the bed, propped his arms up on the edge. "Yeah, you're probably right. How you feelin' anyway?"

"Sore," she said, rubbing her other hand over her stomach. She looked at him, her eyes wet with tears. "God I hope everything's okay with the baby...I'll never forgive myself if anything's wrong with it."

Hyde couldn't believe she was blaming herself for this. If it was anyone's fault it was his. He knew she'd been to hell and back over the last week and he knew she was all kinds of distracted. She shouldn't have been driving; he should've.

"Jackie, this isn't your fault," he assured her, brushing some hair behind her ear. "None of it's your fault. And anyway, the baby will be fine, I just know it."

Jackie shifted a little and stared up at the ceiling. "I hope you're right," she whispered.

Just then Dr. Young pulled down the hospital blanket and lifted the pale green hospital gown, revealing Jackie's bump.

"Okay, Jackie," the doctor said, shaking a bottle of liquid. "Now I'm going to squirt some of this gel onto your stomach and it's a little cold so be warned."

Jackie nodded and squeezed Hyde's hand again. She didn't move an inch when the slimy gel hit her body, and barely took her eyes off the ceiling when the doctor started probing her stomach. Hyde, on the other hand, couldn't take his eyes off of the screen that seemed to hold all of the answers.

"Now this," Dr. Young said, stopping his probing on Jackie's left side, "is the heart. As you see can it's beating nice and quickly which is what we'd expect."

The other doctors 'oohhed and aahhed' at the image but in all honestly Hyde could barely make out anything on the fuzzy screen. The doctors words, however, were reassuring so he nudged Jackie. "Heart's beatin'," he whispered. "That's gotta be a good thing."

Jackie looked over at him with a small, slightly relieved smile on her face, but she didn't say a word.

To Hyde's surprise she didn't say a word for the remainder of the scan. Each time the doctor checked a vital - or not so vital- organ and comment that it looked fine and healthy, she would merely squeeze Hyde's hand. By the time the 25 minute scan was over Hyde wondered whether he should get the doc to scan his hand and make sure nothing was broken; it'd never been squeezed so much.

"So there you go, Jackie," Dr. Young said with a smile. "Your baby is perfectly fine."

Jackie's eyes quickly landed on the doctor. "Are you sure? Like _sure sure_? One hundred percent sure?"

The doctor nodded. "I'm as sure as I can be. Like I said, these machines are very new but they do allow us a good view of the baby and from what I can see all the vital organs are fine and there was no damage done to your placenta upon impact. Your baby has a nice place to keep on growing for the next 14 weeks."

"Oh my god what a relief." Jackie sighed a huge sigh of relief that made Hyde smile. He'd never known her to be so quiet so holding that breath in had clearly rendered her unable to speak throughout the scan.

"As a matter of fact," Dr. Young said as he wiped the gel off of her stomach. "I could see so much of your baby that, if you'd like, I could tell you whether it's a boy or a girl."

Jackie's eyes widened, a delicious smile creeping over her lips. Even if Hyde told her to wait, told her to leave the sex as a surprise, she wouldn't listen. She was like a kid being given her Christmas present in October...she was finding out.

"Oh yes, we want to know!" she squealed. "Don't we, Steven?"

Hyde raised his eyebrows but couldn't help grinning at her enthusiasm. "Do we, Jackie?"

She nodded.

And won.

"What is it, Dr.?" she asked, sitting herself up on the bed.

"Congratulations, you're having a little girl," the doctor announced to Jackie's delight.

Hyde was tempted to block his ears right then, knowing that the high pitched squeal of a teenage girl getting exactly what she wanted was about to fill the room. But he didn't. Instead he folded his arms and let himself smile. Smile because he was getting a daughter. Smile because Jackie was getting what she wanted.

But mostly smile because both his daughter and Jackie were okay.

* * *

 _ **AN2: Okay, that's enough of that chapter! So the reason I wrote this was because quite early on in the story someone asked if we'd be finding out the sex of the baby. After some googling I discovered that scans weren't routine for pregnant women in the '70s and were mostly used in larger hospitals. I figured there wouldn't have been much need for Jackie to have a scan unless something untoward happened...so for once my drama wasn't for the angst-factor lol!**_

 _ **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed...drop a review n let me know. Next chapter shouldn't be too far away - then you'll find out whether poor old Rosa is stuck at the airport waiting for Jackie and just what Hyde is thinking about their latest hook-up. Til then...see ya!**_


	17. Chapter 17

_Two Weeks Later..._

The Burkhart mansion was deathly quiet when Hyde and Jackie arrived; just as they'd expected, just the way Hyde liked it. He closed the door behind them, shutting out the howling wind, and headed toward the kitchen hoping to find some appealing leftovers. Rosa's return had also signalled the return of delicious cooking and Hyde's tummy rumbled as he imagined what goodies he'd come across today. He hoped it was chicken. A chicken sandwich was just what he needed.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Jackie had one foot on the bottom stair and one hand on the rail. Hyde glanced at her then nodded toward the kitchen.

"I'm hungry, just gonna grab a sandwich then I'll be up."

Jackie arrogantly lifted her chin, her fingers tapping the wooden stair rail. "We have _one hour_ , Steven. You can eat later."

"But it only takes you _ten minutes,_ Jackie, so I may as well eat now." Hyde smirked, ignoring the death glare Jackie shot him as she haughtily folded her arms across her chest. "I'll be up in five," he said before he carried on into the kitchen.

"Don't bother!"

The sound of Jackie's boots stomping up the stairs reverberated through Hyde's body and he laughed to himself as he opened the refrigerator. She was such a bossy boss - so used to getting her own way - but Hyde decided that this time her demands would just have to wait. For the last eight days he'd been at her beck and call - well, as much as he could be being that he was grounded n all - and had duly complied with her orders. Not that he'd really minded...Jackie's pregnancy hormones had kicked up a notch lately and when she wanted _it,_ she _wanted it_ and Hyde had reaped the benefits of the boost in her libido.

But sometimes, after a full day at school, a guy just wanted to eat.

Settling on a roast beef sandwich washed down with a coke, Hyde felt satiated and ready to accomplish what he'd come to the house to do. For the sake of time he removed his jacket and sweatshirt while he walked up the stairs - who said guys couldn't multi-task? - and kicked off his boots at Jackie's bedroom door.

"Ready for me?" He winked at Jackie. She was sitting on her bed, her legs crossed at her ankles, flicking through a magazine.

She didn't look up. "No. I'm not in the mood anymore. Go have another sandwich."

"Really?" Hyde asked in amusement. She was _always_ in the mood. Lately he'd only have to look in her direction in the cafeteria and she'd be all up in his face telling him to be at her house by 3.10. Her act of nonchalance wasn't going to faze him; her knew her, and her hormones, far too well. Lifting her right foot off of her left one he slowly parted her legs and shuffled on his knees between them. "Cause I think you are," he said.

Jackie held her magazine higher so that Hyde couldn't see her face. "Well I'm not."

"So you don't want me then?" Hyde kept his voice low and serious. She couldn't see his face, or the smile on it, so he may as well play her little game for a while.

"No I don't."

Kneeling between Jackie's legs Hyde ran his fingertips the length of her slender legs, stopping where her the pink fabric of her dress pooled just short of her panty line. "Guess you don't want me touchin' you then, huh? Like I did yesterday..."

Jackie quickly flicked a page of her magazine. "Didn't want you touching me yesterday...I only fool around with you out of pity."

"Oh, okay." Hyde pushed her dress up around her waist revealing lacy black underwear. His favourite ones. The ones she _knew_ were his favourite. "Kinda seemed like you liked it when I was touchin' you yesterday..."

"Well I didn't."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Not one little bit."

Hooking a finger into the waistband of her panties Hyde gave them a little tug. "So you wouldn't want me to pull these down then?"

"No..." Jackie's voice hitched and she swallowed hard enough for Hyde to hear.

He grinned. "You sure, Jackie?" he asked as he began pulling her underwear down, using his knees and feet to get them all the way off. He kicked the sheer piece of fabric to the floor and looked back at Jackie, annoyed when the damn magazine was still shielding her pretty face from him. Rising up on his knees he cleared his throat, "Guess I'll go home then."

Suddenly the magazine went flying to the floor. "No you won't."

Less than one minute later Jackie had stripped Hyde of his t-shirt and was sitting on top of him on her single bed. He stared up at her, knowing he would never tire of looking into her eyes, especially when they were as lustful as they were right then. He moved his hands to his pants but before he could attempt to unbuckle his belt Jackie swatted them away and undid them herself. Her actions were quick and purposeful, a form of expertise that could only be mastered through intense practise. Eight days of intense practise to be more specific.

She leaned down, her lips slightly parted, and Hyde rose to meet her mouth halfway.

"Not in the mood, huh?" he teased before licking her bottom lip with his tongue.

"Oh, shut up..."

Her grip on his shoulders was firm and her thigh muscles tightened around his waist. She was in charge. Over the last week and a half she was always in charge. Gone was the meek and mild, unsure and insecure Jackie he'd screwed over summer. That Jackie had been replaced with a confident young woman who commanded authority in the bedroom. She dictated not only when their trysts would occur but also where, the position, and how long they'd last. It was as though Hyde were in some kinda porno Forman or Fez would get off on. Not that he was complaining.

She pushed his pants down to his ankles and slid on top of him, setting the pace just as he knew she would. His hands went to her hips. Her skin was silken under his touch and his eyes momentarily closed in pleasure. Hyde had screwed chicks before; plenty of them. But never had he wanted to look at those chicks while they were fucking the way he wanted to look at Jackie. He wanted to watch her all the time. He wanted to see every twitch of pleasure that washed over her face. The way her eyelids went heavy when his hands cupped her breasts, or the way she bit her lip right before she was about to come...he wanted to see it all, knowing that it was _him_ tipping her over the edge.

She rocked slowly upon him, her fingertips tracing the length of his torso, her eyes gazing adoringly into his. He smiled before gripping her hips and pushing himself harder into her.

She arched an eyebrow but continued to rock. "You need a haircut," she breathed out, a hand finding it's way into his curly locks.

"I'll get one tomorrow," Hyde promised.

"Don't go to that guy on Marlow Street," Jackie warned as her back curved and her pace began to quicken. "He does a terrible job..."

"Whatever." Hyde groaned as Jackie's inner muscles clenched tight around him. He was close, so close, and he could tell by Jackie's rapid breathing that she wasn't far behind him.

She grabbed his hand and brought his index finger to her mouth. Her tongue, wet and warm, licked and sucked at the tip and Hyde knew that was it. He pulled it away, as though her mouth was on fire, and put it back on her hip, bracing himself for the inevitable explosion.

"I'll cut it for you..." Jackie whispered.

Hyde had become used to Jackie's coital small talk, so much so that he regularly engaged in it. But right now, seconds from erupting inside of her, was no time for chitchat...especially not about the 'fro. So he pushed images of her holding scissors out of his head and locked his eyes on her face. She was glowing...she always did during sex...and he couldn't hold on any longer.

It was over.

For both of them.

Jackie smiled before she rolled off Hyde and swept her hand across his chest, resting it on his shoulder. He lazily kissed the top of her head, overcome with a mix of post-sex euphoria and the heavenly scent of her fruity shampoo. It was bliss. Laying in bed with her every afternoon was something he could get into. Actually, it was something he was already into and he worried that once the pregnancy hormones settled down it could all be ripped away from him. Unless, of course, they were more than bed buddies.

He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer, preparing himself to talk about _them._

But Jackie bet him to it. "So I can cut your hair then?" she asked with a grin.

"No! You're not going anywhere near my hair with scissors, Jackie."

"But you said..."

He kissed her forehead and pat her bare behind. "I told you the other day - you can't make me agree to stuff when we're doing it, man. It's an unfair advantage n nothin' I say can be taken seriously. You're not cutting my hair."

"Ugh, you're so annoying!," Jackie moaned, propping herself up on her elbow and looking down at Hyde. He studied her face - like he did every afternoon - for any lasting reminders of her accident two weeks ago. Save for a tiny healed scar just about her lip there was nothing and for that he was grateful. He still blamed himself, and he wasn't the only one. Red was still fuming with him and not just because the old man had spent that day driving to Kenosha to pick up Rosa then delivering her to the hospital in Madison. Red was annoyed that Hyde hadn't asked for help, more specifically, that he hadn't asked Red and Kitty for help. So he'd done what any old person would do in that situation, grounded Hyde indefinitely and made life at home as unbearable as he could. The only thing besides Jackie and the baby keeping Hyde going right now was the flicker of hope that Eric would soon trip up and reveal his engagement...that would surely take the heat off of Hyde.

He flicked Jackie's chin with his index finger before placing a small kiss on the corner of her mouth. "I'm annoying, huh? That why I'm here every afternoon?"

"You're here because I'm bored-"

"And horny," he reminded her.

"- and that." She winked and kissed him back, cupping his cheek with her hand. "But you still need a haircut. Our daughter can't have a father who looks like a hobo. You need to look neat and tidy in the hospital photos..."

"Jackie, she's not coming for another couple months, that's plenty of time for a haircut. Chill out."

She raised her eyebrow as a smooth leg brushed over his. "No haircut, no more afternoon hang outs," she threatened, her leg rubbing up and down his own.

"I think you're the one that'd have the problem with that, doll. You forget - I have a pile of magazines under my cot n full use of both of my hands n I don't mind using 'em-"

"Ewww, Steven! Stop!" Jackie cried, much to Hyde's amusement. He swung up, pushing her down on her back, and climbed in between her legs. Automatically she locked her ankles around his back, despite the lame slaps she was delivering to his chest. "I don't wanna hear about you pleasuring yourself," she moaned, "it's disgusting!"

Hyde chuckled as her eyes danced in embarrassment and surprise. "Lucky I got you to pleasure me then," he said before his mouth found her neck and her hands found his hair. Her skin was still damp and warm from moments ago and although Hyde knew it was too early for round two there was nothing he wanted more than to keep making out with Jackie. Figuring he had about 35 minutes before Rosa came home he let his body sink into Jackie's while his mouth and tongue devoured her.

Completely absorbed in each other neither Hyde nor Jackie had heard Rosa enter the house, or her stomp up the stairs. Realisation only hit when she pushed the bedroom door open and started screaming in Spanish. Stunned, Hyde froze, essentially trapping Jackie beneath him. It wasn't until her slaps and pushes got harder that his body quickly rolled off of her letting her button her dress back up and climb out of bed.

"Rosa," she said calmly, running her hands through her dishevelled locks. "Calm down, it's only Steven...you know Steven."

Rosa's horrified eyes darted from Jackie to Hyde, who was still completely naked under Jackie's duvet.

"I don't care who it is!" Rosa growled, her fingers wrapped around the crucifix that hung from her neck. "You only 17 and you not married! No hanky panky in this house, Miss Jackie...not under my watch!"

Jackie rolled her eyes as she tied her hair up in an elastic band. "We might not be married, Rosa but we're having a baby together. I don't think us fooling around is a big deal. It's not like I'm gonna get pregnant or anything."

 _Not a big deal? Hmmmm,_ Hyde would have to talk to her about that later. Was it really not a big deal for her? Was she really just sleeping with him out of convenience? Had he really blown all of his chances at a proper relationship with her? So many questions needed answering but Hyde needed to be clothed to ask them and he'd also prefer not to have a one woman Mexican audience when he did. At the bottom of the bed his feet found his boxers and jeans so he did his best impersonation of a chick and put them on under the blankets. After pulling up the zipper and fastening the button he got out of the bed, figuring the belt could wait. Right now he needed his t-shirt and he needed to get outta there.

"You might not get pregnant but it's still not right!" Rosa yelled as Hyde bent down at the foot of the bed to get his tee. "You both teenagers!"

Jackie groaned and shook her head. "Rosa, you can't tell me what I can and can't do. If Steven wants to come over then he can."

Hyde looked over at Jackie incredulously, horrified that she was throwing him in at the deep end. How quickly she forgot the notes she passed him at school instructing him where to be and when.

With unshielded eyes Hyde looked at Rosa. "We're really sorry, Rosa," he said, haphazardly tucking his t-shirt in. "It was very disrespectful of _both of us_ to be doing that when we knew you could come home. So yeah, sorry." Hopefully that was it, hopefully now he could leave...

Ignoring the scowl on Jackie's face Hyde waited for Rosa's reply. "Thank you, Steven," she finally said, her face softened a little. "You best be going home now." She stepped out of the doorway, making room for him to leave. Grabbing his boots, he turned back to Jackie.

"Call you later," she said, her mouth twisting into a wry grin that told him she wasn't looking forward to the rest of the afternoon with Rosa.

"Look forward to it." Hyde smiled back, a little shocked that he'd actually meant what he said.

* * *

Three hours later Jackie was staring into a plate of nachos wondering why they reminded her so much of Bob Pinciotti. Was it the cheese, or the greasiness? She wasn't sure. What she did know though was that she couldn't eat them; not with Rosa staring at her from across the table like she was some sort of harlet.

"Rosa, stop looking at me like that," Jackie said, picking up a crystal glass filled with water and taking a sip. With her parents being gone, Jackie and Rosa had decided to use all the fancy glassware and crockery that was usually for looking at only. To Jackie it was a waste having such nice things shut away in cupboards or gathering dust on shelves. Nice things needed to be used, and now that she was in charge they were going to be used. She admired the glass again before setting it down on the table and glancing up at Rosa. "Rosa...stop it!" she ordered.

Rosa tut-tutted under her breath and sighed. "Miss Jackie, what am I going to do with you?"

"Um, keep feeding me and looking after me?" Jackie suggested.

"But I cannot be here all the time." Rosa's brown eyes fell as she pushed a corn chip around her plate. "I have to go home sometimes and you can't be here on your own. I was just worried about night time but after today I see I need to worry all the time!"

Jackie sat back in her chair and shook her head. "God, you're so dramatic-"

"Don't take the Lord's name in vain, Miss Jackie."

"- whatever. _Jeepers,_ you're so dramatic, then. It's so not a big deal, Rosa. Steven and I are friends and sometimes we make out...he's my daughter's father...I don't see the problem."

"Well, I do." Rosa sighed and pushed her plate to the side. Rosa was a proud woman, always neatly dressed with not a hair out of place. But tonight, Jackie noticed, she looked tired and not so well put together. Her appearance was a worry and Jackie hoped finding her and Hyde in bed together hadn't sent the good Catholic woman into some kind of breakdown.

"Tell me then," Jackie said, staring straight into Rosa's warm eyes. "Tell me what's so wrong with it."

"I..." Rosa started, wrapping her hand around her crystal glass. "I...well, _we..."_

Jackie's brow furrowed. "We who and we what?"

"We...Mr. Red and I...we talked when we come to the hospital..."

" _And..._ "

"And we decide that sometimes - when I busy - you stay at their house, in Laura's roo -"

"Laurie's," Jackie corrected her, slightly nauseated at the thought of sleeping where a skank had previous slept.

"Yes, Laurie. Well Mr. Red said that he and Mrs. Kitty can take care of you...you know, when I can't..." Rosa's gaze left Jackie and fixed on the white kitchen cabinets behind her, leaving Jackie feeling cold. She hadn't thought about Rosa not being able to take care of her...that was Rosa's job. Hyde had made enough from her mother's fur coats to pay Rosa for at least a month so Jackie had assumed she still had a little while to come up with more money. She'd been hoping that a visit to her dad at the prison this coming weekend would bring with it some monetary surprises; surely he had money stashed somewhere, enough to pay Jackie's only guardian.

"What do you mean, 'when you can't'?" Jackie asked, her tone gruff enough for Rosa to look even more worried than before.

"Well, this weekend for instance. My sister is coming from Tijuana with her children, I need to go home for the weekend," Rosa explained nervously. "Mr. Red said you can stay there...but now, with you and curly haired boy I no think it's a good idea..."

Jackie's eyes narrowed. "Steven or no Steven, me staying at the Forman's is never a good idea. I'm not a child, Rosa, nor am I a charity case. If you won't take care of me then I'll take care of myself."

Jackie picked up her untouched plate of food and stomped over to the sink. Tears were welling in her eyes but she wasn't about to let them fall. If Rosa wanted a weekend off she could have it. Jackie wasn't going to beg to go with her or offer to have her maid's family come and stay at the Burkhart house; she'd already done the latter - suggesting Rosa's husband and 13 year old daughter come and stay with them - but Rosa had politely declined, saying her husband would never stay at her employer's house, that to him it would be rude. It hurt, it hurt knowing that that's what she was to Rosa and her family...an _employer._ Not a friend. Not family. She was their boss. And the ironic thing was that a few months ago she'd made sure Rosa knew that.

"Miss. Jackie," Rosa said, rushing to her side. "Darling I will only be gone two nights, then I be back. But I can't leave you here by yourself. Crazy people out there and you too pretty to be on your own." Rosa gently stroked Jackie's cheeks, her warm touch drawing a small smile from the young girl's lips.

"I am aren't I?"

Rosa smiled before wrapping her arms around her. "Yes you are." She kissed her head and Jackie slid her arms around her substitute mother's waist. "But, Miss Jackie, I don't know about leaving you with the Formans' now..."

"Then leave me here," Jackie begged, dreading the humiliation of everyone finding out she needed a babysitter.

"I can't..."

"Or take me with you?"

Rosa drew back and stared down at Jackie with sad eyes. "I want to, sweetie," she said. "But no room at my house. My sister, her husband, her three children, her brother's sister and her husband all come all the way here to see us. My house will be full. My sister has birthday party at my house and we have many, many visitors and I can't just leave. You understand?"

Jackie shrugged. Yeah, she did understand. Her mother had thrown enough parties in her lifetime for Jackie to know that a hostess couldn't run out on her guests. She also knew there was no way Rosa was leaving her at the house on her own, and mentioning Hyde staying with her was pointless and would probably only lead to her reciting 10 Hail Marys.

Whether Jackie liked it or not, she was staying at the Formans' for the weekend.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thank you to those of you who have reviewed...I love 'em! Next chapter won't take as long, I promise._**


	18. Chapter 18

_The following night..._

"...and that, my friends, is why you never try to dry your underwear in a microwave."

Fez nodded his head, a popsicle millimetres from his lips. "Ohhh," he said thoughtfully, "that makes so much sense."

Hyde had walked into the basement halfway through Kelso's pearl of wisdom and despite being semi-intrigued as to what happens when you put underwear in the microwave, he decided to sit down and say nothing.

"Yeah, it does," Kelso nodded from his seat on the lawn chair. "My mom was pissed, man. She'd only had the thing a week n now it's all messed up n ruined..."

"One of the many risks that comes with being a simple home appliance in the Kelso household," Eric mused before looking over at Hyde. "So, Hyde, how was work tonight?"

"Sucked, thanks for asking," Hyde replied. "We got any beer around here?" It'd been a while, a _long_ while, since Hyde had gotten completely wasted and tonight he felt like doing just that.

Eric stood up and walked to the shower, revealing a 24 pack of cold beers sitting behind the curtain. "We do, but they're for the party...y'know, the party we're all going to tonight?" His hand swiftly moved to his mouth in mock surprise. "Oh, wait," he said, "I mean the party me, Fez n Kelso are going to...the one you can't go to 'cause your _grounded..."_

Kelso let out a loud laugh. "Yeah, gotta suck being Hyde and being grounded!"

"Oh, leave him alone," Fez said, wiping a trail of sticky, red liquid from his chin. "Poor Hyde is going to be a dad soon and he's not even allowed to leave the house on a Friday night." He turned to Hyde and smiled, before adding, "Ah, burn!"

"Whatever." Hyde stood up and walked to the shower, ripping a can from the plastic rings. "Like I'd wanna go to that lame party anyway, it's the same thing every year - drunk jocks settin' their asses on fire, the drunk chess club spewing all over the house, drunk girls passin' out all over the cow fields -" he opened his can and closed his eyes in defeat, "Dammit! I do wanna go..."

Sitting back down on his hard chair Hyde sculled back half of his can of beer and thought about what he'd be missing out on. Daniel Syme's annual winter party at his parent's farm 2 miles out of town was always a party to remember. Every year since freshman year Hyde and the others had gone to that party and every year, without fail, they'd hooked up. Hyde figured it had something to do with all the fresh country air making girls extra crazy and extra up for it...whatever it was, it worked. Not that he wanted to hook up with anyone this year of course. This year there was only one girl on his mind.

A girl who just so happened to be staying under the same roof as him for the weekend.

Eric smirked and rested his arm along the back of the tatty couch. "Well, my friend, you can't. Thanks to your little union with the devil you're stuck in this house until who knows when. Have fun watching TV with my folks while we're out tipping cows."

"Get bent, Forman."

"Speaking of Jackie," Kelso said, leaning back in his chair. "It'll be _awesome_ not having her following me around Dan's party tonight. God, every year she'd be walking round the paddocks screaming 'Michael, where are you?' -" he shook his head, "- Totally ruined me hook'n up with other chicks, man." He smiled at Hyde. "But tonight, the noose is gone and I'm free!"

Hyde snorted into his can. "Good for you, man."

"Yes, good for me," Kelso grinned, not taking his eyes off Hyde.

"Have fun dodging all that cow crap while you're rollin' round them fields."

"Oh, don't worry, Hyde, I will."

Hyde rolled his eyes and finished the rest of his beer. The alcohol was already giving him a buzz, probably because he hadn't eaten since breakfast; one of the many joys of skipping lunch for History tutorials. He motioned to Fez to throw him another can, catching it in one hand.

"Man, this blows," he said, cracking open the can. "All I ever do is go to school n work. It's like I'm a square - or Forman."

"Uhhh, I'll take that as a compliment?"

Hyde nodded at Eric. "You do that, Forman," he said with just a hint of sarcasm. "But seriously, who does Red think he is groundin' me just coz I didn't ask him to drive Jackie to Kenosha? God, you can't win with that guy...you're freakin' damned if you do n damned if you don't."

"Welcome to my life," Eric chipped in. "Although to be fair, I'm not sure that's the only reason you're grounded, dude-"

"Hmmm, I heard it was because you and Jackie have been doing it," Fez added, "but I cannot confirm that rumour because whenever I climbed the tree by her bedroom window her curtains were closed."

Hyde glared at Fez before throwing his empty can at the foreign boy's head. "Stop being such a perv!" he growled. Although Hyde had always denied having a physical relationship with Jackie to the boys, a large part of him wished that they knew. He'd like to be able to kiss her when he wanted, touch her when he wanted, but because their relationship was shrouded in secrecy he had to pretend they were just friends. It sucked and it was annoying. Just like being grounded.

Footsteps on the basement stairs interrupted further talks of groundings and Jackie, and Hyde turned to see the girl herself descending the stairs followed by Donna. He smiled and nodded 'hello', inwardly delighted at seeing her. Since being caught in bed by Rosa the previous day they'd barely spoken, let alone seen each other, and he'd missed her.

Jackie shooed Fez off the couch with her hand and sat down. "So," she said, looking at Eric, "what are you losers up to tonight?"

"Well, those of us who aren't knocked up -" Eric said before glancing at Hyde, " -or grounded - are going to Dan Syme's party. So I'm afraid that counts you out, Jackie. Who's the loser now?"

Jackie tilted her head to one side and raised her brows at Eric. "Not me," she said. "And you can very much count me in." Looking over at Hyde, she added, "And him."

Both Eric and Hyde's faces twisted in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Him?" Eric pointed at Hyde. "But he's grounded, and you're...you're pregnant. You can't come to a party with us."

"Well I am."

Kelso shook his head defiantly. "No offence, Jackie, but we can't be seen at a party on a Friday night with a pregnant chick. It'd totally cramp our style. Probably best you stay in n knit some booties or something."

Donna's eyes narrowed. "Shut it, ya dillhole!" she yelled at Kelso. "Jackie's coming. She's pregnant not 80."

"Jeez, Donna, I said no offence," Kelso whined, slinking back in his chair.

"I don't care what he thinks," Jackie declared, standing up and straightening out her stripy skirt, "I'm coming. So, Steven, you better get yourself changed -" she pulled Hyde up by the hand and began leading him to his room, " - because you are _not_ wearing that!"

Five minutes later Hyde was sitting on the edge of his cot watching Jackie rummage through his drawers. On any normal day he would've yelled at her to leave his shit alone, but on this night he was too stunned to say anything other than, "How the hell did you get Red to agree to this again?"

To which Jackie answered, "Easily. I pouted, shed a few tears, told him how much I missed my parents and my carefree teenage days. Said I needed to be around people my own age for a night and he buckled. Just like I knew he would."

"That doesn't explain how I'm being released from prison..."

Jackie threw a pale blue button up shirt at Hyde and he frowned.

"Do you really think Red would let me go to a party in my condition with those three knuckleheads?" Jackie thumbed toward the main room of the basement. "You're coming to look after me," she smiled.

"I'm not wearin' that shirt..."

"Oh, you'll wear the shirt..."

* * *

Jackie sat in the front seat of the Vista Cruiser, the window open a fraction, the clean, cool breeze sweeping over her face. Next to her, Donna was adjusting the stereo, searching for a song that 'fit the moment'. When Jackie heard a song she liked her hand clamped hard over Donna's.

"Leave it here, Donna," she ordered. "I love this song!" She sat back, the leather seat crinkling underneath her body, and started to sing along. " _I'll be fine when you're gone, I'll just cry all night long, Say it isn't true and, Don't it make my -_ "

A unanimous, "No!" filled the car before Crystal Gayle's beautiful vocals were replaced with white noise.

"But it was Crystal Gayle," Jackie moaned. "And she has such pretty hair..."

"Her hair doesn't help her sing, Jackie," Kelso informed her. "Hair only helped Samson and that was only coz his was radioactive. I learned that from Pastor Dave."

"Shut up, moron," Hyde growled before tapping Jackie on the shoulder. "Hey, Jackie." Jackie turned around, admiring Hyde in his nice blue shirt. She'd never seen that one before and wondered where he'd gotten it from. It was smart, sophisticated, and perfect for a father to be. He scrubbed up well.

"Yes?"

"So, I was wondering. I know I gotta watch out for you tonight n all, but does that mean I gotta be sober? Or can I drink some of these beers?" He gestured to the beers sitting in his lap, his expectant, hopeful eyes momentarily illuminated by the streetlights.

Jackie smiled. "You can drink beer tonight so long as you let me name our daughter Crystal!"

Hyde's face fell and he frogged Eric who was sitting in front of him driving the car. "Don't laugh, Forman," he warned before looking at Jackie. "We're not calling our kid Crystal."

"But it's such a pretty name!" Jackie said. "And Crystal Gayle is so pretty...it's win win."

Kelso nodded his head. "I knew a stripper called Crystal once. She was hot. Now I'm not sure Hyde's kid'll be hot but I'll put money on her being a stripper so, yeah, Crystal could work."

Hyde reached across Fez and frogged Kelso twice in the arm, much to Jackie's pleasure. "Asshole," she mumbled, narrowing her eyes at her ex.

"See, Jackie, we can't call our kid Crystal. Now can I drink some beers or not?"

"Drink the beers," she answered him.

Forty minutes later Jackie was leaning against a wall watching Hyde drink his twelfth beer. He was sitting next to Fez on a small, brown couch on the far side of Dan's large lounge, his hand bobbing up and down shaking two dice. A polished coffee table was in front of them, mostly covered in plastic cups and beer cans, with some space reserved for the two dice to land on. A crowd of guys from school had gathered around the coffee table, and cheers erupted every time one of them rolled two sixes, or twos, or whatever. Jackie sighed as she watched them. Boys could be so dumb.

It'd been ten minutes since Eric had spilled his beer down Donna's jeans, so nine and a half minutes since the redhead had dragged him to the car by his ear. Since their departure Jackie had leaned against the wall by the door, wishing someone would talk to her. Wishing she still fit in.

She looked over at Hyde again, this time catching his eye. He grinned and gave her a thumbs up. His face was warm and happy and she smiled back at him. It was good to see him having fun with his friends again, even though part of her wished he'd come and rejoin her as a wallflower.

"Nice skirt."

Jackie looked up and saw Pauline, a senior cheerleader, standing in front of her. "Oh, thanks, Pauline," she said sceptically, half waiting for the burn that was sure to follow.

"You want a drink or something?" Pauline asked, holding up her plastic cup filled with what looked like beer.

Jackie shook her head and nodded down at her belly. "No thanks. Don't think this one feels like a beer tonight," she said politely.

Pauline smiled, the smile even reaching her bright, blue eyes. "I didn't mean a drink of alcohol, Jackie. I know you're pregnant. I meant do you want a juice or coke or something? There's some in the kitchen-" Pauline stepped toward the kitchen, nodding for Jackie to follow. Jackie glanced over at Hyde, who was still absorbed in his dice game, then back at Pauline.

"Sure, why not," she shrugged.

With a glass of juice in her hand Jackie pushed past the numerous party goers loitering about in the kitchen and sat down next to Pauline at the kitchen table. She made a mental note to herself that next time she saw a pregnant girl at a party she would be sure to step aside; her and her bump had barely made it through the damn kitchen unscathed...or un-drenched in juice.

Sipping at her drink she tapped her foot nervously. It was awkward being back with the cheerleaders, especially because none of them had bothered to acknowledge her presence. Well, none except Pauline.

"So," the older girl said, flicking her black hair over her shoulder, "What's it like being pregnant?"

Jackie lifted a shoulder before letting it drop again. "Boring," she answered. "I can't cheer; can't drink alcohol; can't ride a horse if I had one...it's really not as glamorous as Elizabeth Taylor made out."

Pauline nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I can believe that. When my mom was pregnant with my sister I remember her just moaning about being tired n having stretch marks, it sounded horrendous. But hey, you get a kid at that end so that's gotta be pretty cool right?"

Jackie's eyes widened in shock. Was a cheerleader _actually_ being sincerely nice to her? Did someone who waved pom poms actually think her having a baby was 'pretty cool'?

She smiled brightly. "Well, yes, I think having my daughter will be pretty cool. I've got so many cute little outfits all ready for her to wear. And I have the most gorgeous pram to push her round in-"

"Awww, that sounds so sweet," Pauline said, her eyes glazed over in awe of the baby, or because of the beers she'd just consumed.

Blonde hair spun through the air as Kat Peterson swiftly turned to look at Jackie. "You're having a girl, Jackie?" she asked, her eyebrow in a sharp point, her hands clasped in front of her on the table as though she was in a board room.

Jackie felt the heat rise to her cheeks as Kat, Kelly, Suzy, and even Katie, stopped their chitchat and focused their attention on her.

"Yes, Kat," she said with a smile she hoped didn't look as fake as it felt. "I'm having a baby girl." She rubbed her bump. "Soon I might add."

Suzy, a girl always dressed head to toe in designer clothes, and the envy of every girl at Point Place High except Jackie, scooted over a seat so that she was next to the mother to be. "Wow, I'd love a little girl," she said, gazing adoringly at Jackie's bump.

"But would you really wanna be a single mom?" Kat asked sternly.

"If it meant I'd done it with Steven Hyde, probably!" Kelly blurted out, ending her statement in a fit of giggles. "Sorry, Jackie," she added when Jackie narrowed her eyes at her. "And sorry about the Fez stuff too..."

Jackie shrugged and sipped at her juice again, deciding not to go up against a table full of cheerleaders in her condition. She'd suck it up and roll with it. They may be backstabbing bitches but they were all she knew. A few jibes about her status she could handle; being friendless she could not.

"Well I've done it with Steven Hyde plenty of times," Kat said proudly as she lit a cigarette. "You know that right, Jackie? You know that you weren't the first cheerleader to slum it with our resident bad boy? And I hope you know that you won't be the last. Guys like Hyde don't change, especially when they have good girls lined up on a daily basis throwing themselves at them. Isn't that right, Kelly?"

Jackie felt the thunder rumbling in her stomach, threatening to release it's fury in a verbal rage. She turned to Kelly, not wanting the blonde bimbo to divulge anymore information than what she'd just heard.

"Kat, that's enough," Pauline calmly said, placing a hand on Jackie's forearm. "Don't start any trouble, you've been a bitch to Jackie for long enough."

"I agree," Suzy said, daring to rub her hand on Jackie's baby bump. "Plus I want this little sweetie to call me Aunt Suzy."

"And she just might," Jackie smiled before looking up at Kat. "But sorry, Kat, the only thing me and Steven's daughter will be calling you is skankoi-"

"There you are!" interrupted Hyde as he pushed his way through the crowd and stood next to Pauline at the table. "I been lookin' for you everywhere."

Jackie glared at him. The French doors that separated the kitchen from the lounge were open wide; all Hyde had to do was look up from the stupid dice and he would've seen her.

When she noticed Kat intently studying their interaction Jackie's glare was quickly replaced with a sweet smile. "Miss me did you?" she asked sweetly.

Hyde grinned. "Like a hole in the head, darling," he said grabbing her hand off her lap. He nodded to the door leading outside. "Come with me while I have a smoke."

"But it's cold out there..." Jackie moaned, getting to her feet.

"Then put your coat on."

As Jackie maneuvered her bump in between the wall and Pauline's chair, she caught Kat staring at Hyde.

"Hey, Hyde, how's it going?" the skank asked.

"Kat," Hyde drunkenly nodded, pulling Jackie behind him. "It's going."

Kat smiled and nudged a blushing Kelly before looking up at Hyde again. "Aren't you gonna say hello to Kelly?" she asked.

Jackie held Hyde's hand firmly as her stomach flipped and her pulse raced. She despised being jealous, it was so beneath her, but she couldn't help it. She did her best to telepathically tell Hyde to ignore the slutty cheerleaders and keep walking but the moron didn't hear her. Instead he looked down at Kelly and said, "Hey, Kelly."

Jackie rolled her eyes and dug the tips of her fingers into his lower back. "Thought you wanted a smoke?" she reminded him.

"I do," he said. "Catch ya later girls."

...

Jackie sat down next to Hyde on the Symes' old swing seat, a little nervous about whether the tatty plastic furniture would hold both of their weight. Hyde, clearly unconcerned, lit his cigarette and using his feet, began rocking them back and forth. He sat back and gazed out toward the roaring bonfire burning brightly in the middle of the paddock. There had to be at least 20 kids crowded around it, some probably there for the warmth, others mostly there to see what furniture would burn and what furniture would explode. No doubt Kelso was there somewhere throwing anything and everything on the flames.

"So, you made up with the cheerleaders?" Hyde asked, dragging on his smoke.

Jackie shrugged. "Not really, just people to talk to at this boring party."

"Boring?" He looked at her. "You wanted to come."

"Yeah, but I guess the thought of coming was better than actually being here. I mean, I can't drink, can't smoke, and the music's so lame I can't even dance. Should've stayed home n watched Dallas." Jackie sat back in the seat and wrapped her arms around herself. It was cold, and the only thing from the bonfire finding it's way towards them was the stench of smoke. She should've stayed home tonight. She could've prepared herself for the prison visit with her father tomorrow while also avoiding hearing about Hyde's escapades with other cheerleaders. It made her sick, imagining him with other girls wrapped around him, and not in the sick, furious way that she'd felt about Kelso's exploits. When he had cheated Jackie had been hurt and angry, like someone had stolen her most prized possession. But with Hyde, it was different. He hadn't cheated, he merely had a past that she didn't know too much about, and it made her sad.

"Speaking of home," Hyde said, "how long you staying at the Formans' for?"

"Til Monday I think," Jackie replied.

He grinned. "So are you sneaking down to my room tonight or am I sneaking up to yours?"

Jackie felt the corner of her mouth rise and she slapped his knee playfully. "Neither, buddy. I'm assuming you got the same lecture from Red as I did? No hanky panky under his roof, yadda yadda yadda. Damn Rosa for opening her big gob...it's so embarrassing."

"Yeah I got the lecture this morning. Was kinda awkward having Red discuss my sex life over pancakes with Mrs. Forman sitting at the table." Hyde rolled his eyes and put his arm around Jackie. She snuggled into his side, grateful for the warmth he emitted. "Which is why we gotta be quiet, it's one thing having them talking about it, another thing them actually walking in on us."

Jackie poked his side with her finger. He just wasn't getting it. There was no way in hell she was having sex with Hyde with the Formans in the same house.

"I told you it's not happening," she stated. "And besides, by the looks of it you've had way too much to drink tonight anyway, you'll probably be asleep by the time we get home."

"If I know nailin' you is a sure thing then I swear I'll stay awake," Hyde smirked, gently tugging Jackie's pony tail.

"God, it's all about sex with you guys, huh?"

Hyde's drunken eyes widened and using his left hand he removed his shades, hooking them into his shirt collar. "It's all about sex with me? You're the one that's been gaggin' for it lately. I feel cheap and used if you must know." He finished his sentence with a grin and a wink but something behind his smiling eyes told Jackie that maybe there was some truth in what he'd just said.

"Steven, you're okay with our little - " Jackie paused for a second, trying to find the right word for whatever it was going on between them, " - agreement, aren't you?"

"By 'agreement' you mean you demanding sex and me complying?" he asked.

Jackie bit down on her lip and looked up at him. He was still grinning and she was relieved. "Yeah, that."

He shrugged. "I guess. I mean, it'd be weird y'know, if you were like, in an agreement, with somebody else...coz, y'know, that's my kid in there..."

"That's what I figured."

Hyde cleared his throat. "But, like, if you wanted to change our agreement I could be cool with that too..."

Jackie's brow furrowed. "Change? How?"

"Well, y'know...we're having a baby together, n we're hookin' up all the time, n we're hangin' out a lot, so, y'know...I guess it's kinda like we're in a relationship already but we're also not...if you get what I mean?"

"Are you saying you want to be in a relationship with me?" Jackie asked, slightly unnerved by his suggestion.

"Um, yeah, I guess."

"As in boyfriend, girlfriend -"

" _Yes,_ Jackie."

Jackie sat up a little straighter, prompting Hyde to withdraw his arm from around her shoulders. He stopped rocking his feet and stared at the ground. The porch light shone down on them and Jackie tried hard to study his face. Was he serious about them as a couple or was it the beers talking? Was it a cruel burn, was Fez going to jump out from behind them any minute laughing? But Hyde's expression was unreadable, much like the man himself.

"But what if it changed things between us?" Jackie asked.

Hyde crossed his arms over his chest. "Just forget I said anything."

Jackie was tempted to do just that, but the part of her that liked to talk kept going. If he was serious then he needed an explanation as to why a relationship wasn't a good idea right now. Her list was long - she didn't know much about his past, especially the part that involved Kat, and she wasn't sure she wanted to know. There was also the fact that they barely talked about anything of real importance, hence why she didn't know much about him. And then of course there was the obvious reason - they were from two completely different worlds and were only just making it through their own worlds individually; trying to navigate a world together would not be an easy feat.

Jackie swallowed hard, for the first time in her life choosing to go with what her head was telling her rather than her heart. "What if we ended up breaking up and hating each other? We'll have a daughter, Steven, and I don't want us to be enemies. After Christmas, when I said those things to Mrs. Forman and you stopped talking to me, I thought that was it, Steven...I thought our friendship was over and we'd be parents who couldn't stand being in the same room together. I couldn't bear it if things turned out like that."

"But that might not happen, it could work -"

"But if it doesn't and I lose you then I have no one. Look at my life right now, Steven. Nothing's working...everything's a mess. I can't risk us falling apart too. I need you in my life. Our daughter needs you in her life."

Hyde looked down at her and shrugged, his face hardening. "Yeah, well, like I said, forget I said anything."

"But-"

"Jackie, I said forget it." He stood up, pushed his hands into his pockets and began making his way back to the house. Jackie followed closely behind, her little steps struggling to keep up with his larger, more purposeful ones. When they reached the porch a few kids from school studied them curiously, probably detecting trouble between the parents-to-be, so Jackie quickly linked her arm through Hyde's hoping he wouldn't push her away in front of the would-be gossipers.

Relief swept over her when he pulled his arm closer to his side protectively. "Are we okay?" she whispered as he ushered her through the front door.

"Golden," he replied flatly, leaving Jackie feeling in no way reassured that they were indeed, okay.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thank for so much for the reviews - you have no idea how much they spur me on to keep going. For those of you that were reading 'All of My Love' - guess what...I'm halfway through the final chapter! Hopefully it isn't too far away from being finished, I really hate that it's been left incomplete for so long. Thanks again!_**


	19. Chapter 19

A pounding headache and a bad case of the dry horrors was what had roused Hyde from his deep sleep at lunchtime the next day. He'd missed his morning catch up with Mr. Morrison which was kind of a bummer as he had a paper due in Monday morning, but what was done was done. He wasn't gonna fret over a stupid assignment, there were bigger things on his mind, like how he'd made a fool of himself in front of Jackie the night before.

Luckily most of the night was a bit of a blur and he barely remembered getting home from the party. He vaguely remembered Eric and Donna bickering in the front seat, and he definitely remembered Fez puking on the sidewalk outside his host parent's house, but that was it. He didn't remember getting back to the Forman's, he didn't know how he'd gotten to bed, and he wasn't sure if he'd handed Jackie any more pieces of his heart to walk all over. He just prayed he hadn't.

The house was quiet by the time he had the guts to get up and face everybody - and by everybody, he meant Jackie. Typical that the one time a girl completely rejected him she just happened to be staying in his house. Of all the godamn weekends he chose to lay his heart on the line it had to be this one. He could be such a moron sometimes. The only thing that was gonna save him was the fact he had been drunk. The moment he'd opened his eyes that morning he'd decided to blame the alcohol for his stupid words. If Jackie had believed he wanted a relationship then it was her fault; no one should believe the drunken ramblings of an 18 year old boy.

After finding the kitchen empty Hyde walked into the lounge. Kitty was sitting on the couch doing what she always seemed to be doing lately; knitting pink crap.

She looked up and smiled. "Morning, sleepyhead!"

"Mornin', Mrs. Forman," Hyde greeted her as he flopped down in Red's chair.

"What do you think of this?" She held up one of her needles, revealing a square of bright pink knitted wool. Could've been part of a jacket, could've been the start of blanket, Hyde had no freaking idea and right now he didn't give a shit.

"Nice," he said, trying hard to muster some enthusiasm for something he would never put on his kid. Just 'cause she was girl it didn't mean she had to be decked head to toe in pink; even if that's what her mother and surrogate grandmother had planned.

Kitty grinned and ran her hand over the small garment-to-be. "I just love this colour," she said, not noticing Hyde rolling his eyes. "Jackie picked it out. Me, I probably would've gone for a paler pink but Jackie said fuschia is all the rage right now. So there you go, Steven, your baby is going to be hip!" She giggled. Hyde didn't.

"You know, just because we know she's a girl it doesn't mean you have to stop with the white wool," Hyde hinted. "White's cool. White's _hip._ "

Kitty shook her head, her curls bouncing as she did so, and tucked the end of the needle under her arm. "Jackie said white is boring. She wants her baby to be different, so we're going with _fuschia._ I think it's lovely. Besides, I've already done plenty of booties and bonnets in white. You can mix n match."

"Yeah, whatever." Hyde leaned his head on the back of the chair, closing his eyes so he no longer had to look at the pink monstrosity Jackie had ordered up for their kid. He was gonna have a fight on his hands when it came to dressing their daughter and he wasn't so sure it was a fight he would win. "Where is Jackie anyway?" he casually asked. "Back in bed _resting_ already?"

"No, she left hours ago," Kitty answered as her knitting needles click clacked. "She went to visit her father. Poor girl, first time she's seen him since he...you know..." Her hands paused for a moment. "A prison is no place for a teenage girl, Steven, especially not a pregnant one."

Hyde opened his eyes. Jackie hadn't mentioned visiting her dad. In fact, Jackie never even mentioned her dad. Not to him anyway.

"The prison? That's a two hour drive away. How did she get there? Red take her?"

"No, Red's working today," Kitty told him. "So Michael drove her. They left bright and early to be there for 1 o'clock visiting. Jackie thought she might do some shopping in the city while she was up there."

Hyde's stomach turned, and with all the beer that was in it, it didn't feel good. "Michael?" he asked, hoping there was another Michael in Jackie's life he never knew about, perhaps an uncle or something. "As in Kelso?"

Kitty laughed and loosened more wool from the ball. "Yes Michael Kelso. Why?"

"No reason." Hyde swallowed back the bile in his throat. "Just not like Kelso to go that far out of his way for someone is all."

"Maybe you underestimated him."

"Maybe I did."

* * *

Later that afternoon Jackie gently tapped on Hyde's bedroom door. It'd been a long day and her legs were aching, but she couldn't rest until she'd made sure everything between her and Hyde was okay. When she'd tucked him into his cot the night before she'd tried coaxing more feelings out of him but instead she'd received a rather lousy, slurred, rendition of 'My Girl'...well, her tummy had anyway, so things had been left unresolved and she didn't know how he'd be with her.

Taking a deep breath she tapped again before opening the door. "You awake?" she whispered to the lump in the bed.

Hyde lifted his head from the pillow and looked at her. "Yip," he said.

"Well shift over," Jackie ordered, closing the door and kicking off her shoes. "I'm exhausted."

Hyde frowned. "Y'know there's a couch just out there n a bed upstairs for you?" he said, all the while making room on the cot for Jackie to rest her wary body.

"Yeah, I know, but dumb n dumber are on the couch and the less time I have to spend in the skank's bed the better, I don't wanna catch her slut germs." Jackie shuddered as she curled up next to Hyde. "Besides, I haven't seen you all day and I thought we should catch up."

"On what?" Hyde asked, returning his head to his pillow.

"Oh, I dunno...last night maybe?"

"I don't remember much so I don't know there's much for us to 'catch up' on," Hyde said. "Oh, except Fez puking, I remember that n I'm pretty keen to talk about it. I thought the best thing was the way it projectiled from his mouth, missing his shoes complete-"

Jackie winced at the thought. The contents of Fez's stomach was the last thing she wanted to talk about. "Forget it," she said, earning a grin from Hyde. "I do not need to relive that moment. God, when will that guy learn to hold his liquor? He's worse than Eric."

"Agreed."

The room fell into a surprisingly comfortable silence as Jackie's body almost melted into the cot. It felt good to be lying down, and even better not to be fighting with Hyde. All day she'd been expecting to come home to him brooding and pissed off but so far he'd been civil...normal. Could they ignore what he'd said the night before? Did she want to ignore what he'd said the night before? Did he even remember saying it?

Hyde cleared his throat and tucked his hand under his head. "So, you went n saw your dad, huh?"

"Yeah..."

"How was it?"

Jackie thought over the last few hours - the large, cold room she'd met her father in; the dull, grey tracksuit her once proud father wore; the sad, empty eyes she looked into when she said goodbye to him - and it broke her heart. To see someone she'd viewed as her everything become virtually nothing was devastating and she wasn't sure she could share that pain with anybody; especially not Hyde. He wasn't interested in her parents, certainly not her father. To him Jack Burkhart was a typical greedy politician who'd tricked his way to the top and then deservedly tumbled on his ass back down. Hyde didn't care about the fate of such a man which is probably why he'd never once asked Jackie about him. Until now.

Jackie swallowed back the lump in her throat before answering. "Fine. It was fine."

"Really?" Hyde rolled his head towards her, his unshielded eyes clearly searching for the truth. "Can't've been easy seeing him in there like that?"

"It is what it is, right?" Jackie said, forcing a small smile as she looked over at him. "By the sounds of it he's gonna be in there for a long time so I've just got to get used to it. I'm just hoping for his sake that they change the colour of the regulation clothing...grey's never been his colour."

Hyde chuckled. "Yeah, nevermind the uninvited man love, sort the colour of the clothing out," he joked. When Jackie didn't laugh his smile faded and he tentatively put his hand on her baby bump, feeling around for any sign that their baby was awake. "Hey, you could'a asked me to take you to the prison," he said after a while. "I would'a taken you."

Small butterflies spread from Jackie's stomach through to her chest and arms, warming her instantly. It had never even occurred to her to ask Hyde to take her. Sure, he was the guy who generally looked out for her these days, but he mostly took care of her physical safety because she was carrying his child. He was the one who made sure she wasn't sleeping alone in her house; he was the one delivering meals so that she ate; he was the one concerned whenever she got behind the wheel of a car. But for anything remotely emotional he had always seemed unavailable. Kelso, on the other hand, was always asking how she was and how things were going with her dad. Perhaps their history together made it easier, but Jackie always felt she could turn to him for things that couldn't be fixed physically; as ironic as that seemed.

"You would've taken me?" She looked up at Hyde as he propped his head up on his hand. "I didn't think visiting my crooked, ex-city councilman father would be something you'd wanna do on a Saturday?"

"That crooked ex-city councilman is my daughter's grandfather, what am I gonna do?" he shrugged, smiling. "But, seriously, Jackie, you just had to ask, man, n I would'a taken you."

"I guess I just figured that since you never asked about him you wouldn't want to come with me-"

"But Kelso would?" Hyde said, raising an eyebrow.

"He asks about my parents. All the time. Guess I just felt more comfortable asking him to take me."

Hyde stopped stroking Jackie's tummy and flopped back down on the bed. He stared at the ceiling. "Well isn't he just _wonderful_?"

Jealous? Was Hyde _jealous_ that Kelso had driven her miles in the freezing cold to visit her father in the slammer? Jackie's mind worked overtime as she pieced together the puzzle that was Steven Hyde, and the biggest piece, the one that put the picture together, was the one from last night. What he'd said about wanting a relationship _was_ true. He did have feelings for her and knowing she'd spent the day with Michael hurt him.

Point Place's resident bad boy had real feelings for a shallow cheerleader, and Jackie smiled at the thought. _Eat your heart out Kat Peterson..._

"Are you jealous, Steven?" she asked.

Hyde frowned. "No? Why would I be jealous that Kelso was your bitch for the day?" he growled.

"Uuuummm, I dunno?" Jackie placed her hand on Hyde's chest, watching as it dipped and rose with each breath he took. "Why don't you tell me?"

"I'm not jealous so there's nothin' to tell."

"You sure? Are you absolutely positive that me spending the day with Michael didn't bug you...even a little bit?"

Growing agitated Hyde brushed Jackie's hand away. "Jackie, I don't care okay? Spend tomorrow with him for all I care. You two can fly to Brazil together n go find your mom...makes no difference to me."

"Maybe we will-"

"Maybe you should."

Jackie sighed, all too familiar now with the snide comments Hyde delivered as a way of protecting himself. She could've told him to get over himself and stop being so stupid but that would inevitably lead to silent treatment, and she couldn't be dealing with that right now.

"Steven," she whispered into his shoulder, "about last night...what you said, about us-"

Hyde's lips tightened and his cheeks flushed pink. "I was drunk last night, Jackie. If I said anything, don't take it seriously, I wouldn't have meant it."

His response was completely expected but it still stung a little. Luckily for Jackie years of being cheated on by Michael, together with a teenage pregnancy and parental abandonment, had left her with a crapload of resilience. Hyde's words were nothing compared to what she'd been through lately.

"Oh, okay," she said as she placed her hand back on his chest and her head on his shoulder. "Because if you did mean it, I want you to know that I feel the same about you as you do about me..."

She'd done it - laid all her cards on the table - and now, in Hyde's prison like bedroom on his military style cot, she held her breath and waited for him to throw those cards back in her face.

But she hadn't planned on doing it. During the night when she'd tossed and turned and gone to the bathroom seven thousand times, she'd told herself she'd done the right thing when she'd turned him down. And it _was_ the right thing to do. But just because she didn't want a relationship right now it didn't mean she didn't have feelings for the scruffy guy; and spending the day with Michael Kelso had cemented those feelings. Yes, Jackie and Kelso had history but her and Hyde had a future...a future she didn't want to screw up because _she_ was feeling screwed up at the moment.

She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked up nervously. "Well? Are you going to say anything?"

Hyde cleared his throat. "Uuhhh...like what?"

"Oh, forget it." Jackie quickly sat up, feeling crushed but not at all surprised. If she'd learnt anything about Hyde over the last few months it was that he was like a damn yo-yo; up and down all the freaking time. One minute he wanted her, the next he didn't. She should've kept her trap shut. "I'll see you at dinner," she said, bending down to get her shoes as quickly as her pregnant stomach would allow.

Before she could stand up, Hyde's fingers wrapped around her wrist. "Wait," he said, pulling her back down before going quiet again.

Jackie clenched her jaw, waiting for him to say something...anything...but all he did was stare at her with fear filled eyes. Was it really that hard to open up without copious amounts of alcohol? Growing tired, Jackie said, "Well? What am I waiting for?"

"Look, Jackie," Hyde finally said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I...it's just...what I said..."

"You didn't mean it, right? Yeah, I heard you the first time. You were drunk yadda yadda yadda-"

"No," Hyde cut in, putting his arm around Jackie's shoulder and pulling her into him. "I did mean it...well, I do, y'know...I do.."

"Like me?" Jackie asked, her eyes wide looking up at him.

Hyde's free hand covered his eyes and she felt his body tense before he let out a breath and looked down at her. "Yeah." He exhaled. "I do... _that_."

"Say it then."

"I just did," Hyde frowned.

"No you didn't, you said 'I do that'. That's not telling me anything."

Hyde licked his lips and it took all Jackie's might not to just kiss him right then, but she wouldn't, not until he'd said the magic words.

He raised an eyebrow. "Really, Jackie?" he asked a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Really, Steven," Jackie said sweetly.

Hyde tilted her chin up towards his face, his whiskers lightly brushing her sensitive skin. "Why don't _you_ say it then? You go first then I will."

" _No,_ you go first then I will," Jackie replied, holding her ground even though she really didn't care who said it first, she just liked making him sweat.

He sighed. "Fine! Jackie, I like you. Happy now?"

"Very!" Jackie squealed. "And, Steven, I like you too-"

"I wanted to be the too."

"I know you did." Pushing herself up, Jackie gently cupped Hyde's face and pressed her lips to his. She kissed him softly, slowly, telling herself that just because they had feelings for each other they still had somebody else to consider; somebody who was literally in between them. However the part of her that wanted him badly tried to push the doubts and worries out of her mind by climbing on top of him and deepening the kiss. As her tongue explored his mouth and his hands moved up her back the bulge between them prevented them getting any closer and Hyde eased his mouth away from hers.

"Let me go on top," he said, his quick fingers already unbuttoning her blouse as he gazed adoringly up at her. "Easier like that."

Jackie pouted. "Ugh, we can't do anything anyway, Mrs. Forman is upstairs making dinner. She'll flip if she finds us in here like this."

"Don't care," Hyde stated, finishing off the last button. He pulled her head back down and plunged his tongue into her mouth again and Jackie almost forgot about the woman upstairs and the box with baby Jesus tucked inside it in the corner of the room. She wanted Hyde, they were perfect together, but she also didn't want to see him homeless so she slowly pulled away.

"Steven, not here," she whispered into his mouth.

Hyde cocked an eyebrow. "Camino?" he suggested.

Jackie pursed her lips and sat up. "I am not having sex with you in your car. Especially not in my condition...that is so tacky," she growled.

"Yeah, true." Hyde nodded and ran a hand over Jackie's protruding stomach as if just remembering her condition. "We could sneak off to your place? You got a key right?"

Jackie sighed, climbing off Hyde's lap and resuming her position next to him on the cot. "Yeah I do. But can we go after dinner? I'm so hungry, Michael wouldn't stop for a snack on the way home 'cause he wanted to get back in time for Gilligan's Island in case-"

"They finally got off the island," Hyde finished for her, rolling his eyes. "God, he's a dick. But, yeah, whatever, we can eat n then go."

Jackie giggled. "Oh my god, listen to us...we're like old people, Steven, pencilling in sex for after dinner!"

"Holy crap, you're right!" Hyde said in horror. "N the kid's not even here yet!"

Still laughing Jackie took Hyde's hand in hers and kissed it, finding comfort in just being next to him. He was what she needed.

"So, Steven," she said, tucking their hands into her chest. "About the whole relationship thing-"

"Mmmm.."

"I like you, a lot, but can we just keep things as they are for now? I like things like this...right now...me n you. This is good..."

Hyde looked over at her, his expression warmer than she'd anticipated. "So, you like me, we can have sex with each other, in a couple months we'll have a kid together, but you don't want me to be your boyfriend?"

Jackie nodded. "I don't want you to be my boyfriend, _right now_ ," she clarified. "But I like you like I'd like a boyfriend. Maybe even more."

Hyde nodded. "I can live with that," he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead.

"Good."


	20. Chapter 20

_A Few Weeks Later_

 _Late February_

Hyde glanced up at the lunch lady and frowned, pushing his tray of slop back towards her.

"No, thanks," he said ignoring her death stare. "Think I'll go hungry today."

The lunch lady shrugged, taking Hyde's tray and shoving it on the counter behind her. "Whatever," she mumbled readying her next spoonful for the next unlucky student. "Like I care."

Hyde shoved his hands in his pockets, smirking at the woman's all too familiar words. It was like Edna was back running the school's cafeteria, serving crap with a razor sharp tongue. _Oh the sweet memories..._ Hyde chuckled as he walked away.

It didn't take him long to find the boys sitting at a table by the window and by the looks of the empty table it was clear they'd decided to pass on lunch too. For half-wits they could sometimes be smart.

Eric looked up when Hyde reached the table. "Joining us today, Hyde? To what do we owe the honour?"

Hyde nodded outside at the falling rain. "Raining. You know what that does to the 'fro," he lied. It amazed him that his friends were yet to discover his secret tutorials with Mr. Morrison, instead believing he took off every lunchtime to do god knows what. If one of them had ever bothered to step foot in the school library he would've been busted months ago...but they didn't so he wasn't, and with the SATs in a couple of weeks his secret meetings would soon be over.

"Well, then thank you lord for the rain," Fez smiled. "Because we hardly ever get to see you anymore."

Hyde squeezed Fez's shoulder with his hand. "Sorry, man. Between work, doctor's appointments, parenting classes n school, I'm exhausted." He smiled, choosing to leave out the main reason he wasn't seeing a lot of his friends - making out with Jackie.

"I hope that when the baby comes things get back to normal and we get to see more of you. Circles aren't the same without you," Fez grumbled.

Eric scoffed. "Probably because circles are non-existent without Hyde's stash."

"Hey, I gave you a buttload last week," Hyde said, looking across the table at Eric. "You smoked it all up already?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Come hang with us after school n find out," Eric suggested.

Hyde laughed, leaning back in his chair. "No need to be mysterious, Eric, you can't pull it off. Anyway I got work after school so today's out. Maybe I'll come find out tomorrow."

"You say that everyday but we haven't had a circle with you in weeks."

"Now, now, Erica, don't be like that," Hyde teased, a little bummed that his friends were missing him. In all honestly he kinda missed them too, but what could he do? He was being pulled in all directions right now and something had to give, it just sucked that that thing was his friends. "I swear one day this week we'll hang."

Fez sighed. "You said that last week and when you finally did show up you fell asleep in your chair. After two hours it got really boring watching you sleep...you weren't even sleep talking sexy things"

Hyde cocked an eyebrow in his foreign friend's direction. "Whatever," he said before looking over at Kelso who so far had been quiet, totally absorbed in whatever it was he was writing down on a piece of paper. "What'cha got there, Kelso?" Hyde asked, reaching for the paper only for Kelso to quickly pull it to his chest. "You writing lines again?"

"No, actually," Kelso said. "I haven't had to write lines since last year when I pretended to be a substitute teacher."

"Still don't get how those sophomores believed you." Eric shook his head.

"Hey, it got me date didn't it? Chicks love a man in a suit with authority."

"Until they see him writing lines," Hyde reminded him. "Anyway, what're you writing?"

Eric leaned forward enthusiastically. "Oh, our man here fancies himself as a bit of a poet. Hyde, don't s'pose you know a word that rhymes with chrysalis?"

"Syphilis?" Hyde offered smugly.

Kelso shook his head. "Nope. Tried that and there just isn't a way to make syphilis romantic."

"Can you _believe_ it?" Eric mocked. "And here I was thinking that of all the STI's syphilis was for sure the most romantic. I just don't get it."

"I dunno, Kelso," Hyde started, feeling rather happy he was joining the boys for lunch today of all days. "I think there's gotta be a way to make it romantic...maybe something about how special it'd be if the chick _didn't_ catch it from you..."

Again, Kelso shook his head, furrowing his brow as he read over his poem. "Thought of spinning it that way too, but I dunno, man, just don't think it's gonna fly with this chick. Guess it's back to the drawing board."

"Who's the poem for anyway?" Hyde asked as Kelso screwed the paper up into a ball and tossed it over his shoulder.

"Never you mind," Kelso said. "She's just a chick I'm working on in preparation for prom. See, I like to plan in advance...that's the kinda guy I am. I'm not gonna wait 'til the last minute n be stuck with an uggo or a fatty as a date. I'm preparing now n I suggest you guys do the same - 'cept you, Fez, you'll scare 'em off. You just wait 'til the week before n pick one of the desperate ones."

Fez smiled and nodded. "Will do, amigo!"

"Well I'll be taking Donna," Eric shrugged. "So no need for me to prepare."

"And I won't be going," Hyde grinned. "Because proms are lame n so are you guys." He stood up and looked over at the thinning line by the counter. "I need a drink," he said, pushing his chair to the side. "All this talk of STIs is makin' me thirsty."

Hyde ignored Fez's drinks request and made his way to the fridge next to the counter, unaware of the small shadow following him there. He didn't notice her until he went to open the glass door and a hand adorned with bright red nails landed on the glass, pushing it closed. He looked down and frowned.

"Hey, Hyde." Kat smiled, pressing her back against the refridgerator.

"Ah, hey Kat."

"So, I haven't seen you around much lately. Have you been hiding from me?" she purred, fluttering her eyelashes.

"Nope." Hyde folded his arms across his chest, staring intently at the juicebox to the left of Kat's head. "Been busy, y'know how it is."

"Yeah, I know," Kat said as she played with the end of her blonde ponytail. "I've been missing you...have you been missing me?"

Hyde continued frowning. Was this chick for real? "Ah, can't really say that I have. Can you like, shift over a bit? I just wanna grab a drin-"

"So a few of us are going to Selena's this Saturday," Kat interrupted, staying firmly put in between Hyde and the fridge. "Her parents are out of town for the weekend and we're getting a keg in. I thought you might wanna come with me? It'll be fun...I promise."

Hyde grimaced. Kat _used_ to be fun but his idea of fun had shifted from blonde sluts to spoiled brunettes and he couldn't think of anything worse than spending Saturday night with her.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm kinda busy Saturday night. I'm sure Kelso would be keen though. Take him," he suggested.

Kat scrunched her nose in disgust before trailing her fingertips suggestively down Hyde's jacket. "But I don't want Kelso to come, I want _you_ to come."

"Well I _can't_. I'm busy." Putting his hands on Kat's shoulders he maneuvered her to the side of the fridge and opened the glass door, retrieving his much desired drink.

Kat followed him to the counter, wrapping her arm through his. As he searched his pocket for a crumpled bill he narrowed his eyes at her and tried to shrug her off. Kat Peterson was made of a different breed though and didn't take rejection easily, if at all.

"Oh, I bet you're not busy all night," she whispered up at him, smiling. "Just come over whenever, I'll wait up for you."

"How's about you don't." Hyde finally wrangled free from Kat's grip and smartly turned on his boots away from her. "I'll catch ya later, Kat," he called back, not bothering to turn around and not noticing a particular brunette watching the exchange from across the room.

...

"After you," Hyde said later that day, holding the door to the doctors open for Jackie.

Jackie smiled and curtsied. "Why thank you," she sweetly said as she stepped outside.

Once inside the car, Hyde turned the heater onto high, warming his hands before reversing out of the parking lot.

"You should wear gloves," Jackie stated, holding up her own mittened up hands.

"Yeah, 'cause they look _so_ cool," Hyde smirked sarcastically.

Jackie's doe eyes narrowed. "Better than being so cold you can't wrap your hands 'round the steering wheel."

Hyde glanced down at his white knuckles wrapped around the steering wheel. "I'm drivin' aren't I?"

"Just." Jackie sighed and shifted over next to him, leaning her head on his arm. He looked down at her. She was watching the road ahead, her eyes sad, her cheeks missing their usual glow.

"What's up?" Hyde asked when they stopped at a red light. "You're quiet, too quiet."

"Nothing." Jackie sighed again.

"Jackie..."

She sat up, clasping her hands together on her lap. "Well, it's just...when the doctor asked who'd be in the room with me when I had the baby, I wanted to say you and my mom, but, well, it's been two whole weeks since I heard from her, Steven. The baby is due in six weeks but we both know how advanced I am in everything so I'd say it'd be more like four-"

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Jackie, didn't you just hear the doctor? He told you most first time mom's are overdue," Hyde reminded her. "So it could be more like eight."

"I will _not_ still be pregnant in eight weeks, Steven. Four, maybe five tops. I'm always punctual therefore my baby will be too-"

"You do remember who the father of this kid is, right?"

Jackie waved her hands through the air. "Look, we're getting off track here. Anyway, what I'm worried about is whether or not my mom will be back in time for the birth. I don't wanna do it without her. I don't know if I _could_ do it without her..." She flopped back against the leather seat of the Camino and returned her head to Hyde's arm like she always did. He'd gotten used to them driving round like this. For someone who wasn't his girlfriend she sure acted like one. Not that he minded.

"Jackie, if you have to do this without her you will. Where's she been the last couple months? Not here lookin' after you that's for sure. N look at you - you survived. If she's not here, she's not here. Make a back up plan." He was still biting his tongue when it came to Pam Burkhart, resisting the urge to ban her from his daughter's life altogether. He'd put money on it that Pam wouldn't bother showing up for the birth but he wouldn't tell Jackie that; she was still holding on to hope that her mother would be there wiping her brow in the delivery room.

"A back up plan?" Jackie asked. "Like what?"

Hyde shrugged. "I dunno. Like Rosa, or Donna, or Mrs. Forman or something."

Jackie was quiet for a moment, pondering his suggestions. "Hmmm, maybe," she said quietly. "I mean, I have faith that mom will come back, but just in case she doesn't I guess it wouldn't hurt to write another name down on the hospital form."

"Wouldn't hurt at all."

When Hyde crossed the main road and began heading to the fancier side of town, Jackie sat up again. "Where are you going?" she asked as if she didn't already know.

"Your place." Hyde glanced at her. "I start work at four so I'll drop you home now."

"But I don't wanna go home," Jackie pouted. "Rosa won't be there 'til later n you won't be there..." Suddenly her face lit up with the biggest smile he'd seen all afternoon. She grabbed his arm. "Steven, let me use the Camino for the afternoon!"

Hyde blinked rapidly, not sure if he was hearing things. As much as he hated the thought of her being alone there was no way in hell she was driving his car. Aside from a duffel bag and a few tees and jeans it was all he had.

"As if, Jackie. If you don't wanna go home I'll drop you at Donna's." He swung the car up by the curb before checking the rear view mirror. When the road was clear he did a U-turn and headed back toward the Forman's.

"But I don't want to hang at Donna's...I want to go to the mall _with_ Donna," Jackie moaned. "Didn't you hear the doctor? He said I need to start packing my hospital bag which means I need new pajamas, Steven. Please, please, please let me take the car." She was perched on her knees now, scratching at his beard, kissing his neck, using every trick in the book to pry his car from him. And it was working.

"I'll take you to the mall tomorrow," he offered, concentrating as hard as he could on the busy road ahead.

She kissed the corner of his mouth, pulling away before he could reciprocate. "But I want to go today," she pleaded. "And I promise I'll take good care of it. And I promise I'll be at the restaurant at nine on the dot to pick you up. Please, Steven? Please, plea-"

"Fine!" Hyde swiftly turned left toward the restaurant and wanted to kick his own ass for doing so. It was becoming apparent to Hyde that the bigger Jackie's tummy got, the easier 'yes's' to her demands flew from his big gob. However despite becoming a pushover where she was concerned, he still had rules - especially when it came to his car. "You can take the car, but you better go straight to Donna's, then straight to the mall. No cruising 'round, Jackie. Okay? And don't even try to parallel park her. Got it?"

"Got it!"

* * *

Two hours later Donna's head was leaning against the glass passenger window in the El Camino as it headed down James Street for the thirteenth time that afternoon.

From the driver's seat Jackie eyed her friend in annoyance. "God, Donna! Sit up would you?" she ordered, shoving her hand into a bag of chips nestled between them. "No wonder you walk like a lumberjack, your posture's shot to hell."

Donna sighed. "Jackie, we've been up this street so many freaking times today n nothing's changed," she said before pointing at a blue Toyota parked under a bare tree. "Blue car's still there, and look, that kid's bike is still leaning against that house. And there - up ahead - brown station wagon still in driveway." She sighed again. "What exactly is it that you're looking for?"

Jackie kept driving, only pausing as she stopped at the end of the street and turned onto Frederick Drive. "Be patient, Donna," she said as she drove around the block again. "I told you two minutes ago, this won't take long."

"I think I have been patient," Donna argued. "You said we were going to the mall but instead I've been stuck in this car for over an hour driving around the same damn block. I'm starving. I haven't eaten since lunch."

"Always about the food with you isn't it?" Jackie pushed a couple of chips into her mouth and devoured them before handing Donna the bag. "I got you some chips, eat them 'til we're done. Then you can buy yourself six burgers and knock yourself out."

Donna picked up the bag and peered into it, a frown forming on her face. "It's empty," she said, tipping the bag upside down causing Jackie to scowl when salt and crumbs dropped to the floor of Hyde's car. With one hand still on the wheel, Jackie reached over and ripped the bag from Donna's hand.

"Geez, Donna! Don't get crumbs all over Steven's car! He'll flip!"

Donna smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Oh, my bad. Didn't mean to mess up your boyfriend's car."

"He's not my boyfriend."

"Pfft, could'a fooled me," Donna grinned. "Tell me again then why you're driving his pride n joy around?"

"Because I can."

When Jackie pulled the Camino back into James Street in the distance she saw what she'd been waiting for. A small, red hatchback was turning off Frederick Drive into James, coming to a stop a few houses from the corner. Adrenaline pumping through her little body, Jackie pushed her foot harder on the accelerator, not wanting to miss her opportunity.

Donna sat up and put her hand on the dash. "Woah, Jackie! Going a little fast there don't you think? It's been raining all day, the road's slippery."

"Oh, calm down," Jackie said, easing up on the gas as she approached the red car. "I was going the speed limit."

The hatchback was parked outside a very ordinary Point Place house. It was tidy enough, but nothing compared to where Jackie grew up. She smiled smugly when a blonde stepped out of the passenger side of the car, not noticing Jackie pulling up her driveway.

Donna peered out of the window before sliding down in the bench seat. "What the hell are we doing at Kat Peterson's house?" she whispered. "I am _not_ coming to one of your pajama, cheerleading parties, Jackie."

Jackie 'sshed' her and opened the door. "Wait here," she said before picking up a book from the floor and stepping out of the car.

Jackie's boots squished beneath her as they made contact with rain sodden front yard and the sound of her steps caused Kat to look over. The smile quickly disappeared from the blonde's face, replaced with a competitive snarl Jackie was all too familiar with. She'd cheered alongside Kat for years and as the girl was older and seemed wiser Jackie had studied her intently. She knew the girl inside and out which meant she was at an advantage. Knowing ones enemy was crucial when going into battle; as was having an army, which Jackie had steadily been able to build up in the form of Pauline and Suzy. Who knew allegiances could so easily be changed when clucky teenage girls were involved?

Ignoring Suzy sitting in the car, Jackie crossed the last few feet of grass that separated her from Kat and smiled. "Hi, Kat," she said, adjusting the woollen scarf around her neck. She'd all of a sudden grown cold, maybe more because of the company than the chilly February afternoon.

"Hey, Jackie." Kat's eyes glossed over Jackie and fell onto the black Camino behind her.

A grin played along Jackie's lips as she stared at Kat staring at the car. The blonde didn't even have the polite courtesy to bury her jealousy beneath the walls of her catty exterior. How Jackie had ever looked up to such an amateur had become a mystery; despite the girl's age and experience she knew absolutely nothing about playing it cool.

"So, Kat," Jackie started, "you have a cheer meeting later on, right?"

Kat nodded, eyes still darting between Hyde's car and the heavily pregnant girl in front of her.

"Oh great," Jackie said. "Because Pauline left her bio textbook in my bag and she really needs it for our test tomorrow. Do you think you could give it to her, please? I've driven all 'round town looking for her n she's nowhere to be found! Probably off getting her nails done or something!" She pushed the textbook into Kat's arms and then rested her hands on her stomach.

Kat looked down at the textbook. "Ah, yeah, sure," she said before focusing back on Jackie.

Jackie's smile was saccharine sweet. "Oh, thank you, Kat! Pauline would've just _died_ if she'd failed that test! You know how much she wants to be a nurse...God knows why. I mean, yuck! Nursing is all butts and old people, I personally couldn't think of anything wors-"

As expected, curiosity got the better of Kat and she cut Jackie off. "So Hyde lets you drive his car, huh?" she asked, nodding toward the driveway.

Jackie shrugged. "All the time," she lied.

Her heart beat a little faster when she thought about what Hyde would say if he knew what she'd been doing with his car all afternoon. He'd be all _'Jackie, that was stupid', 'Jackie, grow up', 'Jackie, what a waste of gas, man'_. But even if he did find out, and she did get one of his minimalistic speeches, the sheer look on Kat's face made it all worth it. The skank surely had to know now that she'd better back the hell off.

"Wow." Kat's attempt at appearing stoic were futile; she looked like she'd been kicked in the guts by a pregnant brunette. "I've never seen him let anyone drive that car before, not even Eric."

"Well nobody else is carrying his daughter," Jackie said, swallowing back the smugness that wanted to drip from her tongue.

"Yeah, but you two aren't together."

Jackie's brows knitted together. "Aren't we? Who said we're not?" Pretending to check her non-existent watch, Jackie gasped. "Oh! It's nearly seven - Steven will be waiting for his dinner -" she looked at a Kat and smiled, "- thank you so much for getting the book to Pauline, Kat. I'll see you tomorrow."

If she could've skipped to the car, she would've. But it was wet and icy and she was heavily pregnant, so a quick walk had to do. She could feel Kat watching her and chuckled, imagining the phone calls the skank would be making tonight. No doubt the first would be to Kelly, which would be great because Jackie needed that slut to back off Hyde as well. From there the phone tree would grow and tomorrow at school Hyde and Jackie would once again be the talk of the school, but it was worth it - Hyde liked sluts and sluts loved Hyde and it would be over Jackie's dead body that the father of her child ended up with one.

"What the _hell_ was that all about?" Donna practically yelled once they were safely off James Street.

Jackie smiled and drummed her fingers against the steering wheel in time with the music, which, to her delight, was ABBA since Hyde wasn't within earshot.

" _That_ , my friend, was putting a bitch in her place using a healthy dose of passive-aggression."

Donna rolled her eyes. "What did Kat do this time?" she asked. "Although I'm not sure I wanna know..."

"Oh, Donna -" Jackie exhaled loudly, relieved at finally being free to tell Donna about Kat's lunchtime spectacle. She'd wanted to tell her earlier but the redhead had the annoying habit of trying to talk her out of her brilliant plans therefore she couldn't risk being swayed. She had the car; the job had to be done. " - you should've seen her all over Steven in the cafeteria today, it was disgusting! That girl has no respect for the sanctity of having a baby together-"

"The sanctity of having a baby together?" Donna questioned.

"Yeah, she has no respect for it, putting her scrawny, pastey hands all over him, tongue practically hanging out of her mouth." Jackie's veins coursed with anger at the memory and she gripped the wheel tightly. "It was revolting, Donna. The girl is desperate and needs to find her own man and stay away from mine."

"Yours?"

Jackie glanced at Donna when she realised her faux pas. She bit down on her lip nervously, her mind scrambling for a response. "Well, you know what I mean."

Donna raised an eyebrow. "No, Jackie, I don't know what you mean, so why don't you fill me in? Last I heard you didn't wanna be with Hyde - which, I might add, we're all very grateful for...knowing you two hooked up last year is gross enough, I don't think we could stomach actually seeing it."

And there it was, the disapproving verbal venom creeping out of her best friend. Words no doubt uttered regularly in the basement whenever it was free of Jackie and Hyde and their creepy relationship. They both knew the sentiment was there though - shared by the other four members of their group - but they'd hoped that as they'd grown maybe their friends had grown too; well Jackie had hoped anyway. Their lack of faith in her and Hyde had without a doubt been a contributing factor in her not wanting a relationship with him just yet. Not so much because she cared what they thought, but because she worried their concerns would filter into Hyde and send him running for the hills and she couldn't risk losing him. She wouldn't risk losing him. Hence her afternoon spent shooing away slutbags.

She pulled the Camino into a park outside the Hub and put it in park. "Look, Donna, me n Steven might not be together but that doesn't mean I want him running 'round town with the likes of Kat Peterson, okay? Since I'm having his baby I kinda technically own him-"

"Jackie, I don't think that's how it works-"

Jackie waved a hand in Donna's face silencing her. "Sshh, Donna, you wouldn't know how it works 'cause you haven't had a baby. I am a walking, talking human incubator and while I am I rule Steven Hyde and there will be no blondes in his life. Now go get your burgers, I'll be in in a sec." Donna shrugged and went to open the door but before she could Jackie stopped her. "Wait, Donna," she said. "What's the time?"

Donna checked her watch. "5 to 7," she answered before getting out.

Jackie smiled and dabbed some gloss on her lips. _Only two more hours 'til I see Steven,_ she thought as she stepped out to follow Donna inside.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Thanks so much for the reviews! I love them! Only one, possibly two, chapters til the baby arrives..._**


	21. Chapter 21

_**A/N: Really just a filler chapter that I'm over holding on to! Hope you enjoy x**_

* * *

 _One Week Later_

"Go faster," Jackie growled through gritted teeth. "God gave you five fingers on each hand for a reason, Steven, so use them."

Hyde stopped what he was doing and turned to Jackie. "Why don't _you_ do it then, Jackie? And by the way, I don't think God gave me these fingers so I could be doin' this crap at 18...my fingers are more suited to other things - like rollin'-"

"How are you two getting on over here?" The soon-to-be-parents looked up from the table and smiled at Jane, their parenting class co-ordinator. She smiled back at them before looking down at the plastic doll half done up in a cloth diaper. She frowned. "Do you need some help?" Jane offered.

Jackie pulled the doll in front of her and began undoing Hyde's work. "No, no, we're fine," she assured the older lady. "Steven was just trying to do things his way. You know men, always think they know better."

Behind the safety of his aviators, Hyde rolled his eyes and resisted the urge to tell Jackie she was full of crap. She'd been testing his patience lately; firstly by using his precious car for reasons other than going to the mall, and secondly, by whining all through their parenting class. Her need to be in control of everything - even things she knew nothing about, like changing a newborn - puzzled him and he didn't understand why she just couldn't go with flow.

Jane looked at Hyde. "The way I showed you is tried and tested and I assure you it's the best way if you don't want any accidents."

"My bad," Hyde said, raising an eyebrow at a blushing Jackie. "I'll stick with your way in the future, you being the expert n all."

When Jane moved on to the next couple Hyde pulled the doll back in front of him. "Damn, Jackie. I told you to listen to what she said." He folded part of the cloth diaper into a triangle, and the rest into extra padding in the middle like Jane had shown the class, then set the baby down onto it. "This way makes sense."

"But I can't push the pin through the fabric, it's too thick," Jackie moaned, watching Hyde's actions intently. "There's gotta be an easier way."

"This _is_ the easier way. Your way didn't work. You'll just have to keep practising."

"Or you could just change every diaper," Jackie told him. "I could live with that."

"Yeah, like that's gonna happen." Hyde busied himself with the diaper and the doll while Jackie did what she always did in these classes, watched everyone else. "You could help y'know," Hyde said, the diaper pin between his teeth.

But Jackie instead of helping, Jackie simply elbowed him in the ribs. "Just hurry up, Steven. Those old people over there are nearly done!" she whispered loudly in his ear.

Hyde glared at her. "So?"

"So, I wanna win. We have to win. Hurry up!"

"This isn't a competition, Jackie. There's no prize for who can put the diaper on the plastic baby the quickest," Hyde said, casually taking the pin from his teeth and moving to poke it through the thick wad of cloth between his thumb and fingers.

Jackie raised her eyebrows and tapped her foot on the floor. "Everything in life is a competition, Steven." She eyed the couple next to them with disdain, watching as they successfully dressed their pretend baby and grinned goofily at each other. "God, they think they're so much better than us and look at their baby, Steven, it's ugly. Ours is so much cuter with it's pink lips and dimples -" she swatted him on the shoulder and pointed to the baby at the next table, "- See? Their baby doesn't have dimples. Ours does. Ours is so much cuter. What have they got to be smiling about?"

"Ah, hate to break it to you, Jackie, but this isn't actually our baby, it's a plastic one. See?" He slipped the doll's arm into a onesie before moving it right around in a 360 motion. "Pretty sure our kid's arm won't be able to do that."

Jackie rolled her eyes then went back to watching the other couple. "It's still cuter than their one. Ugh, why does she have to be so happy all the time? Always flicking her shiny hair...flashing her diamond rings...flaunting her designer clothes...makes me want to throw up."

Hyde ignored Jackie's observations and clumsily buttoned up the small cardigan he'd managed to get on the baby. He hated these classes, and not for the reasons he thought he would. Learning about taking care of a newborn had been pretty cool, much to his surprise, but hearing Jackie bang on for two hours every week about all the other parents-to-be had been downright annoying. He'd figured a while ago that her jealousy stemmed from her own insecurities - why else would she have pulled that stunt with Kat last week? But he had yet to figure out why she was so insecure. She knew he was into her and she had to know she would be a good mom, therefore she needed to stop acting like a crazy person.

He wrapped the baby in a blanket and handed it to Jackie. "Well try not to throw up on your cute baby, 'kay?"

...

An hour later Jackie was still moaning about old people who thought they were better than her and Hyde was still ignoring her, his mind now focused on the mashed potatoes Kitty was heaping onto his plate.

"And how was your last parenting class?" Kitty asked, making sure to give him a little extra knowing how much he loved her potatoes.

Hyde took his plate and went to join Red and Eric at the kitchen table. "It was good," he said.

"Except we didn't win." Jackie was sitting next to Red, pouting like a child. Hyde rolled his eyes and dug into his food.

"Win what?" Kitty asked. "Were there games in your class? How lovely!"

"No, Mrs. Forman," Hyde said. "There were no games at the class, or prizes...they were just in Jackie's head."

Eric winked at Hyde. "Hanging out in there with the unicorns I bet."

Jackie narrowed her eyes at Eric. "Bite me, Eric," she scowled.

"Um, no thanks."

Red clanked his fork on his plate. "No one's biting anyone. Can't we just have one meal in peace?"

"Not so long as Hyde's girlfriend keeps joining us," Eric said under his breath.

"She's not my girlfriend!"

"I'm not his girlfriend!"

Eric stabbed his meat with his fork and in a sing-song voice said, "Not what the whole school is saying..."

"And since when did those dorks know anything, Forman?" Hyde said gruffly, fully aware of the rumours that had been swirling around the school since Jackie had gone to Kat's house. He didn't really mind what was being said, and he kinda enjoyed Jackie groping him every lunchtime, but he just didn't get why she'd start a rumour like that yet still refuse to officially be his girlfriend. Ugh, he was becoming Forman, thinking about girlfriends and crap like that. He needed a circle, now. He looked at Eric. "If they told you Kelso was gonna be an astronaut would you believe 'em?"

"They've sent a monkey into space, why not Kelso?" Eric shrugged.

"Because a monkey has a damn sight more brain cells than Kelso, that's why not." Red looked over at his son and smiled. "Now I'll tell you someone that they should send into space, and that's you, Eric."

Eric put his hand to his heart. "Dad, are you saying I'm smarter than Kelso? That's, like, the nicest thing you've ever said to me..."

Red frowned. "No, I'm saying that you need to move out and get as far away from this house as possible. Space just happens to be far, far away."

"I'm fine with that," Eric shrugged. "But I'll need a little time. Han Solo didn't learn how to fly the Millennium Falcon overnight."

"Oh -" Red dropped his fork, "- I didn't say anything about you _flying_ the spaceship, you'll just be on it hitching a free ride...much like you do here."

Kitty laughed and dabbed the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "Now, now, boys, I think we're getting off track here. We were talking about Steven and Jackie's parenting class-"

"And now we're planning Eric's future for him." Red grinned. "Because he's clearly incapable of sorting it for himself."

"Dad, come on, I'm still 17-"

"Only for a couple more months," Red reminded his son.

Eric looked up, shocked. "You know when my birthday is?"

Red grinned again. "I know when you're eighteenth birthday is, I've been waiting for it nearly 18 years now."

"Anyway," Kitty turned to Jackie. "What exactly didn't you win at class tonight, dear?"

Jackie chewed her mouthful and put her fork down. "Everyone beat us at dressing their babies," she started.

"Us, Jackie?" Hyde said turning to her. "From what I remember I was the only one dressing our baby. You were too busy gawking at everyone else."

"I was keeping an eye on the competition, Steven!"

"But they weren't our competition, Jackie. They were people learning how to look after a baby, just like us."

Jackie narrowed her eyes but Hyde could still see the tears welling up in them. For the life of him he didn't know why they were having this argument right now. It was ridiculous; just like Jackie at the damn class.

"They all thought they were better than us," Jackie argued. "Didn't you see how they'd stare at us when we walked in?"

"No. Because I wasn't looking at them to notice," Hyde told her. "You, on the other hand, spent the whole time watching other people instead of learning how to wrap a damn baby. We don't have money for a nanny, Jackie. Lookin' after this kid is all on you, man."

All of a sudden Jackie's seat flew back and she was on her feet. Hyde's stomach twisted in guilt as all eyes were on him.

"Oh, you'll never understand! You...you...pig!" Jackie cried, throwing her napkin at his face before flying off into the lounge.

Red was the first one to break the silence. Turning to Hyde he said, "Nice one, idiot."

Hyde shook his head, watching the door as it swung back and forth. "I dunno what's up with her, man. She's doing my head in, always worrying what other people think. Who freakin' cares?"

"Jackie cares." Kitty placed a hand on Hyde's forearm, her forehead creased in concern for the young parents to be. "Her parents are gone, she's still in high school, and she's having a baby, honey. Her life is all over the place, and we haven't even begun talking about the pregnancy hormones-"

Eric raised his hand. "Ah, and I'd prefer it if we didn't while I'm in the room," he stated before returning to his dinner.

Hyde sighed, dropping his fork on his plate, lamenting the loss of his carefree days as the local burnout. All this chick stuff just wasn't him. He had a few weeks left to work out how to be a father and was yet to figure out how to be a supportive kind-of-boyfriend...not to mention the little matter of upcoming SATs. Oh how one summer fling can change your life...

"Yeah, I get all that, Mrs. Forman-" he started.

"But do you really, Steven?" Kitty's gaze was locked on him, trapping him in this conversation whether he liked it or not. "Do you know what it's like to go from perfect little rich girl to the talk of the town - and not for good reasons, I might add. Jackie doesn't have a mom there to give her a cuddle when she's feeling down, and she doesn't have a father around to tell her that despite her being pregnant she's still his princess. Instead she thinks people are frowning on her for being a teenage unmarried mother. That's got to be hard on the girl."

Hyde drew in a deep breath. "So you're saying I gotta marry her?" he asked. "Coz I did mention that pretty early on n she said no."

Eric's eyes grew wide and his mouth fell open. "You _what_?" he said in disgust. "You asked the _devil_ to marry you? What were you _thinking_?"

Hyde glared at Eric in annoyance. "No. I didn't ask her. I mentioned it. Like, as in, is that something she expected us to do, _Forman_."

Kitty moved her chair around, so that her back was to Eric, and concentrated on Hyde. "Ignore Eric," she said, before an audible mumble of protest came from Eric. "Now, I'm not saying you need to propose to Jackie. What I'm saying is you need to see things from her perspective-"

"In all fairness, Mrs. Forman," Hyde interrupted, "I think I've been doing that. I looked out for her when her old man got locked up n her mom took off. I take her to all her doctor's crap. I let her use my car..." He left out the bit where he satisfied her dirty urges, deciding the Forman's didn't need to hear about those trysts, but he couldn't stop his lips curling up at the thought of them. "See, I'm a pretty supportive guy."

Red scoffed. "No matter how supportive you think you are, son, you'll never be supportive enough. You may do everything they ask you to do but if you haven't done the things they _didn't_ ask you to do then you've failed. It's all about mind reading with women. I suggest you get good at it."

Hyde was puzzled. _What she didn't ask me to do?_ _What the hell was that?_ He shook his head. "I don't get it?"

"What they're saying, my friend -" Eric leaned into the table and folded his arms across his chest, "- is that your bitchy girlfriend feels like crap right now 'cause her deadbeat parents are gone and aren't there to fill her head with tales about how special she is, hence feeding her inflated ego. At the parenting class she felt like she was being judged and you were supposed to feed that inflated ego by telling her how she is so much better than those married, successful, and probably more stable, couples. Not only did you fail to do that, but you then pretty much told her that she's gonna be a crap mom in front of all of us. So, yeah, good going, Hyde."

Now Red was puzzled. "Holy hell," he said in disbelief, staring at his son. "You don't know the cold tap from the hot, but you got all that? Well I never..."

Eric shrugged. "What can I say, I get women."

"And I clearly don't," Hyde sighed.

...

Later that night Hyde found himself face to face with an angry looking Mexican woman who, he noticed, had a rolled up newspaper clutched tightly in her left hand. His hands were clenched too, but not because he was readying himself to take the woman on in some kind of warped duel, but because he had been standing on the Burkhart's doorstep for ten minutes in the freezing cold. Damn it to hell that he couldn't stop being so cool and just wear gloves.

"Please, Rosa," he said again through the glass panel in the door. "Just let me say sorry."

Rosa waved the newspaper at him. "No!" she growled for the 500th time. "You'll just upset her again! It take me an hour to settle her down n I don't want you upsetting her again!"

Hyde's forehead fell on the door. He knew Rosa was probably right, he probably would upset Jackie again, but not intentionally because he _still_ didn't really understand how he'd upset her in the first place. On his way over he'd just decided that chicks were weird, especially pregnant chicks, and there was no way of knowing when you were gonna set them off. So he just had to tread carefully and hope she wouldn't break. Perhaps they could just make out instead of talk from now on? He couldn't say the wrong thing if his mouth was busy doing other things...

But that idea was short lived when Rosa banged her newspaper on the glass.

He lifted his head. "Rosa please? Just give me ten minutes...Swear to god if I upset her I'll never turn up without an invite again."

Rosa narrowed her eyes before slowly turning the latch on the door. She eyed him suspiciously as he stepped inside, his wet boots squeaking on the wooden floor.

"Get them off," Rosa ordered before Hyde could remove the offending footwear. "But everything else stay on! No hanky panky in this house, boy" she reminded him.

"No hanky panky, I swear," Hyde said, grinning at the words as he bent down to place his boots next to the other ones by the door.

Rosa continued to stand by the door holding her damn newspaper and Hyde was beginning to find the small woman more intimidating than Jack Burkhart.

"Not that Miss. Jackie would want hanky panky with boy who made her cry," Rosa said frowning. "I should beat you with my paper for telling poor girl she be a no good mama! Miss. Jackie will be wonderful with baby. You, on the other hand, I not so sure about..."

Hyde opened his mouth ready to protest, before realising anything he said would be in vain. Rosa was protecting Jackie, acting in her best interest, and he should be thanking her for it even if it meant he looked like an asshole.

"You're right," he said, nodding. "Jackie will be a great mom, which is what I'm gonna tell her. So, can I go up?" He gestured with his thumb to the stairs and Rosa slowly nodded. "Thanks, Rosa," he said, scuttling up the stairs two at a time.

When he opened Jackie's door he found her lying on her bed wearing blue flannelette pajamas, holding a half-empty box of chocolates. She quickly sat up when she saw him and threw the box to the ground.

"Steven! What are you doing here?"

Hyde was still walking into the room, his mind replaying the 'I'm sorry' speech he'd prepared earlier, when he was stopped in his tracks by a familiar sound. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He especially couldn't believe he was hearing it in her room.

He looked at the record player and the album spinning round and round. "You play it?" he asked, his arms feeling tingly though he wasn't sure why.

"Yeah, I told you I would."

He looked at her. She was sitting up now, her eyes puffy from crying. He felt like shit for making her that upset. "But I didn't think you would."

She shrugged. "Well now you know." Jackie settled herself, pushing some pillows behind her back, and sat back against the wall. Through a mix of guilt and surprise Hyde allowed himself to smile. 'Down the Highway' wasn't his favourite Bob Dylan song but it still beat the hell out of any disco shit and the fact that Jackie was exposing their child to this music because he'd asked her to, well, that just blew him away. No one ever did anything he told them to do unless he ordered them to do it with a fist in the face or the arm. Jackie had done it for him just...because...

"Well, thank you," he said.

"Your welcome." She looked up at him. "So, what are you doing here anyway? Thought you were grounded?"

Hyde stepped over to the bed and sat down on the edge, next to Jackie's feet. "I am, but it turn's out Red has a soft spot for crying pregnant girls so he let me out for a couple hours. So here I am..."

"You're here because Red told you to come?" She sounded pissed. He didn't blame her, he probably could've worded what he'd said better, maybe said 'I'm here to apologise' straight off the bat.

Hyde put a hand on Jackie's leg, holding firm when she tried to kick it off. "No I'm not here coz Red told me to come. I wanted to come apologise so I asked Red if I could leave the house. And here I am...apologising. I'm sorry for being a dick, Jackie."

Jackie eyed him cautiously. "And what exactly are you sorry for?" she asked.

He needed to chose his words wisely so he did his best to recount the ones he'd practised on the way over. "I'm sorry for implying that you couldn't take care of our kid. 'Cause we both know that you can and you will. You'll be an awesome mom, better than either one of ours and a whole lot better than those old skanks at parenting class."

Jackie's hand shot to her heart and her lips crept into a beaming smile. "So you do agree that those women were old and skanky and eyeballing me?"

Hyde nodded. "For sure, just didn't wanna say it in front of Mrs. Forman, you know what she's like at the moment with all her woman stuff going on. If I'd said those chicks were old n totally jealous of you then what would she think?"

"Oh, Steven, you are so sweet n considerate!" Jackie leapt up as quickly as her pregnant belly would allow and perched herself on Hyde's lap. He grinned in relief. All he'd had to do was go along with her nonsense to turn her from a crazy person into a loved up one. He could get used to this...to an extent. Some of her antics were going to cause them to butt heads, but telling her that pregnant women in their late 20's were jealous of her wasn't one of them. She ran her fingers along his jawline and stared into his eyes. "I'm sorry for getting mad with you," she purred into his mouth. "I should've known you were just trying to protect Mrs. Forman's feelings. God, you're the sweetest."

When Jackie's tongue dove into his mouth and danced with his he wanted to pull away and tell her that _she_ was the sweet one. After all, _she_ was the one listening to music she hated just because he wanted her to. _She_ had done for him something he wasn't sure he'd ever do for her. At a time when she was sad and pissed off she'd still played their baby music just because Hyde had once drunkenly asked her to. She was the sweetest. But as much as he wanted to tell her that, he didn't. He couldn't. Yeah he was going soft, doing dumb crap to please her, but he still had to keep some walls up. He couldn't leave himself open for heartbreak. So instead of telling her that she was special - a hundred times more special than Kat Peterson or parenting class old ladies - he pulled her tightly into him and kissed her for as long as he could, hoping like hell a certain Mexican didn't catch them.


	22. Chapter 22

**_A/N: This is another nothing chapter, just something I'd written a while back. It fits well here so I'm posting it. Hope you like!_**

* * *

 _End of March_

"I can't believe you dragged me here today," Jackie moaned, dragging her feet slowly across the tiled floor.

"I'd hardly call it dragging," Donna said, hooking her arm through her pregnant friend's. "All I said was 'hey, Jackie, wanna come to the mall?', you said 'sure!', and here we are."

"Well I must've been having a temporary blackout, one where I forgot I was the size of a whale and ready to burst," Jackie sulked. "Because I really shouldn't be out here looking like this -" she swept her hand down in front of herself, "- I look disgusting."

"No you don't. You look like you're going to have a baby very soon and you're glowing."

Jackie looked up at Donna. "Glowing?" she said. "Do you even know what glowing is, Donna? Because _this_ isn't glowing. _This_ is gross."

They stopped at a pretzel vendor and Jackie waited while Donna ordered them a pretzel each. Oh how she wished she was at home with her swollen ankles propped up. The mall on a Saturday morning was no place for a girl nearing her due date.

She snatched the warm pretzel from Donna's hand. "Ugh, it's like Steven's spawn is taking over my body and making me hate shopping. I should be loving this. I should be buying myself presents to make myself feel better but instead I'm acting like you, Donna, and complaining...oh my god, I'm turning into you...and Steven. Kill me now - or better yet - get this kid outta me, _now_!"

Donna grinned. "Midget, you only have a couple weeks to go. Before you know it you'll be shopping up a storm with your beautiful baby next to you. Awwww, she's gonna be so cute!" Donna gushed.

"Of course she'll be cute, she's mine," Jackie said. "But I can't wait a couple more weeks. I need her out now. She's ruined my body, my social life, and now my greatest joy in the life, shopping...her time is up, Donna. I'm evicting her today."

The two girls walked toward the shoe store, their purpose today was to find Donna some new summer shoes. Jackie didn't know why they were bothering - Donna only ever wore two types of shoes, brown ones, and ugly ones, and she was having no part in choosing either.

"I don't know why you're so eager to have her out," Donna said, checking out the shoes in the display window. "The only way you can get her out is to push her out... _of there_. I can't believe you're not freaking out. I'd be freaking out. _Eric_ would be _freaking out_!"

Jackie rolled her eyes and chewed on her pretzel. "Eric freaks out when he sees his own shadow, and as for pushing this kid out - there are drugs for that, and I'm havin' them. All of them."

"Oohh, I forgot about the drugs bit, that'd be pretty cool. Pity we all can't come n try out what the hospital has on offer." Donna grinned.

Jackie frowned. "Yeah, 'cause having you lot fried outta your brains while I'm giving birth would be a dream come true for me," she said dryly following Donna into the store and over to the ugly shoe stand. She looked at the brown sandals Donna was eyeing up and shook her head. "Donna, I'm saying this as a friend who doesn't wanna see you go through life as an ugly girl - those shoes are revolting and if you buy them I promise to do everything in my power to make sure my waters break all over them. Got it?"

Donna's forehead creased and she let out a small laugh. "Geez, Jackie," she said, placing the sandal back on the plastic stand. "You could'a just said you didn't like them. I didn't need the visual of your amniotic fluid spilling all over my feet in my head like it is now."

Jackie sighed and bit down on her lip. She was over this pregnancy. Over the extra weight she was carrying around. Over the hormones. She wanted her body to be hers again but snapping at her friends wasn't gonna get her there any faster.

"Sorry," she said. "These hormones are making me crazy. This pregnancy is driving me crazy!"

Donna put an arm around Jackie's shoulder and the two continued to walk up the aisle, stopping every time Jackie spotted a shoe she thought suitable for her giant friend.

"I know you're over it," Donna said. "But I can assure you that within a month it'll be over. I've never, ever heard of anyone being pregnant forever. That's gotta make you feel better right?"

"Not really." Jackie picked up a silver sandal and passed it to Donna. "Try that one on," she ordered. When Donna sat down to try on the shoe Jackie sat down next to her, relieved to be off her own feet. "I'll tell you what will make me feel better," she said. "If you promise me you'll be there when I have her."

"I already did."

Jackie shook her head. "No, you didn't _promise_ me, you just said 'sure, Jackie, I'll come with you to the hospital', that's not the same. I can't be there with just Steven. Can you imagine it? He'll just stand there, leaning against the wall, probably telling me to hurry up so he can go have a circle-"

"Jackie, come on, he won't be like that-"

"He's a guy, Donna. I know he's only coming because he thinks he has to. He'd probably rather a phone call when it's all over. You know Steven, the least amount of effort n all."

Donna stood up and walked a couple of feet to the mirror. She looked over at Jackie with raised brows and Jackie nodded. The shoes were perfect for her enormous feet. God Jackie was good.

"I really don't think Hyde will be like that," Donna said, slipping off the shoe and putting it with it's other half in the box. "I mean, sure he's a little lazy, and pretty nonchalant, but we've all noticed how much he's stepped up since you got pregnant. So many things he does now he would never have done a year ago. He'll wanna be with you when you give birth and I bet he'll be real supportive. But if it makes you feel any better I _promise_ I'll be there with you." The girls walked to the counter and waited in line. Donna nudged Jackie. "Hey, so I take it you're not counting on your mom being back for the birth then?" she asked.

Jackie's stomach knotted. She'd been trying not to think about her mom lately. Thinking about Pam only led to tears and she needed to save those for when she was pushing a watermelon out of her girly parts.

"No," she said quietly. "I don't think she'll make it. It's fine though, 'cause I know she'll be bringing back loads of presents for me and the baby - stuff that we can't buy here - so me and my daughter will be the most stylish mother/daughter duo in town. That'll be so much better than having her at the birth feeding me ice cubes. I've got you to do that." She avoided Donna's pitying eyes and held her purse tightly. In a few weeks this would all be over. With or without her mother.

 _Meanwhile...in the basement..._

Hyde walked out of his room grinning. "Well, boys, it's been a while since we've been free to do this in the basement on a Saturday morning but here we are." He held up a freshly rolled joint in one hand and a lighter in the other while Fez, Kelso and Eric looked on in glee. "So who should do the honours?" Hyde asked as he sat down on his chair.

Fez pulled the ottoman in front of the television and sat down. "Well I vote you should, Hyde, seeing as you are the one who is usually missing."

Hyde nodded and moved the joint to his lips. "Good choice, Fez," he said.

"Wait." Eric was standing up, his arm outstretched attempting to stop Hyde from lighting up. "Jackie n Donna could come back any minute. You sure we wanna do this? I mean, I know we all _wanna_ do this, but my question is _should_ we do this?"

Kelso rolled his eyes and bounced on the couch excitedly. "Relax, Eric. We'll just save the girls some. That way they won't feel un-included."

"Excluded," Hyde corrected him.

"Excluded, whatever," Kelso shrugged.

"No, Kelso, I'm not talking about saving them some - although we probably should save Donna a little, she gets mad when I partake without her - I'm talking about the last time we indulged in here and Jackie walked in. We only just made it outta that one with our lives-"

"Hey," Hyde said, joint still hanging out of the corner of his mouth. "You're forgetting my Grateful Dead t-shirt. That didn't make it. May it rest in peace."

The boys all nodding solemnly, remembering Jackie tearing the shirt off Hyde's back when she caught them smoking in the basement a few weeks back. She'd screamed that it was bad for her baby if she inhaled the fumes, and that it didn't matter that she hadn't told them she was dropping by, because they just should've just known. It didn't matter that she was crazy, Hyde had thought, they should've just locked all the doors so she couldn't get in. He shook his head at the memory.

Eric looked over at Hyde. "Yeah, it was a truly tragic day for your wardrobe, Hyde," he said. "But I think we're all forgetting something here - getting caught by Jackie is up there with getting caught by Red. Are we sure we wanna risk it?"

Hyde waved a dismissive hand at Eric and sat down. "I think you're forgetting something, Forman. Jackie n Donna have gone shopping, at the _mall_. They won't be back for hours."

"I dunno," Eric said. "Jackie didn't really look like she wanted to go -"

Fez nodded. "I agree with Eric. My goddess could barely get herself up off the couch. It is so horrible watching something that was once so small and spritely and beautiful become, so...so, um..."

"So fat," Kelso laughed.

Fez looked around the room nervously, as though the walls had ears. "Well I wasn't going to say that," he said. "Not the F word. Never say the F word around Jackie."

"She's not here," said Kelso. "So I'm free to say Jackie is fa-"

Hyde glared at Kelso. "She's not fat, she's pregnant, so watch your mouth, Kelso. Anyway, we're forgetting the point, right now Jackie's at the mall, a place she could stay in for hours. Now maybe she wasn't too keen on goin', but I guarantee that by now somethin' shiny or sparkly has caught her eye n made her forget how crappy she's feeling." He lit the joint and dragged hard on it, closing his eyes for a moment. He exhaled before smiling and saying, "Which means I can now forget how crappy I'm feelin' n get blazed. Who's with me?"

"Fine," Eric sighed as Kelso took the joint from Hyde. "I'm in. But just remember, Hyde, it's your funeral - or rather - your AC/DC t-shirt's funeral when Jackie catches us."

Hyde looked down at his t-shirt, his brain already feeling the effects of the sweet smoke. "Again, Forman, Jackie's at the mall. We're golden."

A few minutes later Hyde was staring at Eric through a cloud of smoke, his mind a fuzzy haze of words and thoughts. His head felt heavy, his mouth felt dry, his body felt relaxed. He pushed his sunglasses up on his nose and tried to concentrate on what Forman was saying.

"...and that, my friends, is why Daisy would totally choose Luke over Bo."

Fez inhaled. "Oh how I would love to do it with Daisy Duke. I would make her leave the shorts on. And the little shirt. And the boots..."

Hyde exhaled. "Good luck doin' it with her with her shorts on, Fez." He turned to Eric. "But I like where you're going with this, Forman. Tell us again about how doin' it with your cousin is okay?"

Kelso took the joint from Hyde. "No way is Daisy the Duke boy's cousin. It's a cover up for them being in some awesome three way relationship." He looked at Fez and winked. "I'd make her leave her boots on too, buddy."

Eric looked up at the ceiling. "Like, why do girls never choose the sensible guy? I mean, he's a war veteran, he was a boxer, he can slide over the General Lee...why wouldn't she choose him over Bo?"

"I would totally do it with Daisy in the General Lee." Fez dragged on the joint and handed it to Hyde. "And make her leave her boots on."

Hyde smiled. "If I had the General Lee I wouldn't be trying to nail my cousin - no offence, Forman. I'd be pickin' up chicks left, right n centre. Chicks love the General, man."

Kelso nodded. "Yeah, chicks love the General. If I had that car I'd-"

Just then, through the foggy haze, the boys heard the sound of the upstairs door opening. Eric was the first to react, rushing to the outside door, swinging it back and forth to allow fresh air in. Fez jumped off the ottoman and moved it to it's place by the deep freeze; leaving it in front of the TV was a dead giveaway. Kelso grabbed the can of air freshener, spraying it around the room all the while muttering 'oh my god, oh my god' over and over again. Hyde, meanwhile, scooped up the ashtray and ran to stash it in his bedroom, his heart pounding in his chest. He pushed the ceramic dish under his bed and stopped for a moment to compose himself. The slow footsteps coming down the stairs were Jackie's, without a doubt. Everybody else stepped quickly down them, but a heavily pregnant Jackie took her time and understandably so. He heard her sigh, she was near the bottom. He had to get out there and act straight. He liked his AC/DC t-shirt, he didn't wanna lose it.

By the time he walked back out the boys were all in their usual spots; Kelso on the lawn chair, Eric on the end of the couch closest to Hyde's chair, Fez at the other end of the couch closest to Kelso. Hyde moved toward his chair, wiping the beads of sweat from his forehead.

"Hey," he said as he met Jackie at the bottom of the stairs. She immediately grabbed his arm so he could help her down the last step and over to the couch. She looked exhausted. He felt as high as a kite.

"Hi," Jackie said, moving so slowly it was making Hyde trip out. "Move!" she yelled at Eric when she got to the couch. Eric jumped up straight away, paranoia written all over his face.

Jackie dropped her bags on the floor and flopped ungraciously down on the couch. She put both feet up on the wagon wheel and closed her eyes. Hyde looked at Eric. Eric looked at Kelso, then at Fez. Fez looked at Kelso then at Hyde. Hyde looked at Kelso. No one said a word. No one moved. No one knew what the fuck to do.

"Ah, how was shopping?" Hyde mumbled. He was still sweating. He felt like it was dripping off him and leaving puddles on the floor. He looked at the floor and was relieved to see no puddles.

Eric put his finger to his mouth. "Ssssh," he whispered. "Don't wake her."

Hyde slowly nodded. Eric was right, you never wake a sleeping giant. If Jackie was asleep then she hadn't noticed the room smelt like a cross between a Zeppelin concert and a public restroom, and that was a good thing. It gave them time to straighten up. And have something to eat. Yeah, Hyde needed something to eat.

He gestured to the stairs. "Let's leave her in peace," he said sweetly, just in case she could hear him. "She needs her rest."

Fez and Kelso slowly stood up, Kelso careful not to let the chair scrape on the concrete floor. All four boys tiptoed toward the stairs as quietly as they could, but froze when the outside door burst open.

"Where are you dillholes going?" Donna asked as the door slammed behind her. She sat down on the lawn chair and looked at them suspiciously.

"We're letting Jackie rest," Eric quickly said.

"Yeah, you wore her out, Donna. She needs to sleep. We're giving her time to do that." Hyde climbed another step. He had to get out of there. He couldn't breathe.

Jackie opened her eyes and turned her head to look at the boys. "I'm not even asleep," she said. "I was resting my eyes for a moment."

Hyde chuckled. Jackie was 'resting her eyes' a lot lately, usually for a couple of hours at a time. "Well we'll let you rest your eyes then," Hyde said. "We'll be back in an hour." Four sets of feet scrambled up the steps but before Hyde could open the door to freedom a voice called out to him.

"Steven, come back," Jackie called. "I want to show you what I brought."

"You can show me later, when you're rested."

"But I want to show you now. _Pleeeease?_ "

Hyde took his hand off the door knob and turned around. Eric's eyes were fixed on him.

"Don't do it, Hyde," Eric warned him in a whisper. "If you go down we all have to go down and then we're all screwed. Just keep going up, buddy."

Fez nodded. He was a step below Eric and was pulling at his collar like the thing was strangling him. "Please, Hyde, don't make us go back down there. Pregnant Jackie scares me more than regular Jackie."

Hyde looked at his friends and then at the door. He wiped his brow a _gain_ and contemplated what to do.

"Steeeeeven, what are you doing up there?"

"Fuck it!" Hyde pushed through his friends and stomped back down the stairs. His mouth felt like sandpaper, he was sweating bullets, and his friends were pissed at him, but none of that compared to having Jackie angry at him. He had to go back down there and act straight. It'd be just like the times he went to school stoned. He could do this.

"Show me what you got then," he said, sitting down on his chair.

Jackie proceeded to pull baby toys and clothes out of bags, while Eric, Kelso and Fez meandered at the back of the basement looking shady as hell. Hyde shook his head at them. They were making it obvious. As Jackie talked and pushed baby crap into his hands Hyde looked over at Donna. She was watching the boys with raised eyebrows, probably wondering what was so funny about a broken Etch-a-Sketch. Yeah, she knew. But she hadn't opened her mouth and dobbed them in so Hyde breathed a little easier.

"So, what do you think?" Jackie asked, holding up a red and black ladybug costume in baby size.

Hyde frowned. "I think we agreed we were only buying essentials, Jackie. And I don't think a ladybug costume is on the essentials list we were given."

"Come October it'll be essential," Jackie told him. "If I'd waited 'til September to start looking for Halloween costumes they'd be all sold out."

He was too stoned to argue. "Whatever."

Jackie's face fell. "I thought you'd be happy I was so organised, Steven."

Eric sat down on the back of the couch, right next to Jackie. "Hmmm, I don't know that happy, organised and Steven belong in the same sentence, Jackie. Unless it goes something like 'Steven Hyde organised the robbery of the jewellers and Red Forman isn't happy."

Jackie didn't bite back, she just pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and finger.

"You okay?" Hyde leaned forward and touched her leg with his hand. She was tired, over being pregnant, and he'd been trying to be empathetic...well as empathetic as he could be. He didn't know what it was like to be so pregnant. From the looks of her ankles and stretched skin it sure didn't look like fun.

She put her hands on the arm on the couch and lay her head on them. Her mismatched eyes looked up at Hyde. "I'm so tired," she moaned. "And sick of being pregnant."

He stroked her hair. "I know you are."

A chorus of 'aaawwwww's' echoed through the basement.

"Get bent!" Hyde yelled at everyone before looking back at Jackie.

"Can we go lie down in your room?" she asked. "My legs are aching, and my feet hurt, and I feel a headache coming on..."

A sleep? For sure Hyde could roll with that. His buzz had been killed and now he was just tired and thirsty. This was win win for him.

"Of course we can." He helped pull Jackie up from the couch and picked up all her bags before following her into the bedroom. On his way he stopped and pulled a Coke out of the tray on the deep freeze. He grinned at his friends on his way past. Today had been a good day.


	23. Chapter 23

**_A/N: Surprise! I'm back! I'm not sure how many people are still reading this story - because wow, there are just sooooo many great stories being posted on this fandom right now (hit me up if you want a list of 5 or so totally awesome stories currently being written that I'm addicted to!) - but I sincerely apologise to those of you who have been waiting for me to update. This chapter was a long time coming but I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reading x_**

* * *

 _Thursday, March 23rd, 1978_

The gravel crunched under the weight of the El Camino as Hyde eased his foot down on the brake in front of the Burkhart mansion. He put the car into park and sighed as he looked at the rain steadily pouring down. "Spring break my ass," he muttered, zipping up his jacket.

"I'm hearing ya," Donna agreed, staring out of the passenger window. "But hey, we may not have the Florida weather but at least we still get the week off."

Hyde shrugged in silent agreement at his friend's words. It wasn't that he wanted to bust out his summer wardrobe and hang by the pool or anything; Steven Hyde was not a summer sorta guy. It was just that this winter, in particular, had seemed to last _forever._ He was sick of the rain; sick of the snow that'd only just seemed to melt; sick of the grey; sick of the cold. He was sick of it all

"Well it's meant to be spring," he grumbled. "I'm over this weather, man."

Donna smiled and rolled her eyes. "What? Did you just wake up and realise you live in Wisconsin not California?" She laughed and opened her door, letting some of the wet raindrops land on the dash. "Get used to it, Hyde. Or you're gonna spend the next five weeks highly disappointed."

"Ahh, but you forget I've spent my whole life disappointed," Hyde said as he hopped out of the car and met Donna by the flatbed. "I think I can handle another five weeks of this shitty weather." He unhooked the canopy covering the flatbed and let out another audible sigh. Shaking his head he lifted up a box and handed it to Donna before picking up another one and following her to the front door. "This better be the last time she gets me to move this crap," he moaned, wiping his soggy boots on the mat. "Coz I'm over this shit too."

Donna waited for Hyde to step inside and then used her shoulder to push the heavy door closed. "I think you forget, we're talking about Jackie here - the girl you're having a kid with - you'll be moving her stuff around for the next 18 years, dude. Anyway, what made you decide to wear your grumpy pants today? You out of film or have you already racked up more detentions for after break?"

Hyde shuffled the heavy box in his arms, trying to balance the weight so he didn't drop the damn thing all over the foyer. He raised an eyebrow at Donna. "I think you forget, Donna, that I wear my grumpy pants _everyday_."

"Good! You two are finally here!"

Donna and Hyde looked up the wide staircase to see Jackie descending the stairs one at a time. She was wearing a loose fitting summer dress with her hair tied up in a messy bun. Hyde looked at her ensemble in disbelief deciding the girl clearly had not left the house that day.

Jackie frowned when she reached the bottom step and pointed at the grandfather clock standing tall behind Donna. "It's 4 o'clock, where the hell have you two been?" she asked before rubbing her stomach in a circular motion.

"Nice to see you too, dear," Hyde uttered sarcastically as he brushed past the brunette and made his way up the stairs. He'd leave it to Donna to explain to Jackie that unlike her pregnant self, he and Donna still had to go to school. They couldn't be at her beck and call between the hours of 8.30 and 3 no matter how many times she called the school office ordering them to bring her fries and milkshakes. She had become a woman possessed and it was driving Hyde crazy.

He ignored Jackie's shrill cries as he walked the length of the hallway, stopping when he reached the room that was soon to be home to his daughter. There, amongst a plethora of pink clothes and blankets and toys, he found Rosa. She was busy securing a height chart to the _pink_ wall and didn't notice him.

"Hey," Hyde said quietly. Rosa turned around and Hyde gestured to the box in his arms. "This is the last of it."

Rosa smiled. "Good," she said, pushing the last thumb tack into the bottom corner of the chart. "There is no more room in here for any more stuff. Poor baby won't be able to breathe in here!"

Hyde nodded as he took in his surroundings. Jackie had sure gone to town buying unnecessary crap for their baby. As soon as her dad's lawyer had made an offshore account available to her Jackie had gone on a crazy shopping spree and Hyde was fairly sure their daughter was set for life. Okay, she may not have any money for college, but she'd never have to go without stuffed elephants or pink clothes with embroided rainbows on them. No wonder Jackie was dressed like she was, it was as though summer time had thrown up all over this bedroom.

"Nevermind the kid," Hyde said, pulling at his collar as he sat down in a wooden rocking chair, "I can't breathe in here."

"Well get used to it, Mr. Hyde," Rosa grinned, opening the box he'd set down on the floor, "because you'll be spending a lot of time in this room."

Hyde slowly shook his head as his feet moved, gently rocking the chair back and forth. That was the second time in the space of ten minutes he'd been told to 'get used' to something and he found it rather amusing. He'd never pegged himself for someone who would just put up with something. The Hyde he knew was someone who would move to change an uncomfortable situation or circumstance. But here he was, rocking back and forth in a freaking pink bedroom, feeling _amused_ instead of agitated. Perhaps that's what happened to a man when they had a kid on the way - week by week, month by month, a little more of their spine turned to mush until they became middle-class, suburban 'yes men' who didn't give a shit what happened in their lives so long as dinner was on the table at six.

 _Crap!_ Hyde thought, quickly standing up. He was _not_ going to sit in a rocking chair in a pink bedroom when school was out for spring break. He was 18 for God's sake. Not 38. When Jackie and Donna walked in he looked at Jackie sternly.

"Jackie," he said with a hand on his hip. "This room is way too pink, man. I can't take it."

Jackie's expression went from surprised to puzzled as she glanced around the room. "Steven, it's not any pinker than it was when you were here lastnight. I don't see what the problem is?"

Hyde pointed to the top of the dresser which was adorned with pink photo frames waiting for photos; a pink jewellery box Jackie had said would soon be filled with jewels; and various pink and white teddy bears and dolls. "These are the problem," Hyde explained. "Pink, pink, and more freakin' pink. It's too much. Just coz she's a girl it doesn't mean everything in her life has to be pink. You could mix it up a little...maybe even get rid of some..."

Donna held her hand up to silence Hyde. "I don't care what you two do with the room but I'm stating right now that none of this stuff is coming back to mine." She looked at Jackie. "Because guess what? My room isn't a storage shed and I've only just gotten rid of the last 2 boxes that had been dumped there. So yeah, just letting you guys know that now." Obviously feeling the tension that'd invaded the room, Donna stepped back, bumping into the crib, and shoved her hands in her pocket.

Jackie's eyes were watering as her both her hands rubbed her belly but Hyde wasn't backing down. Not while he still had some of his spine intact.

"Well?" he asked a glum looking Jackie.

"None of it's going. This is my baby's room, in my house, and I'll have it how I want to have it. You can have her room at the Forman's however you want to have it."

Hyde bit the inside of his cheek hard. Mrs. Forman had done Laurie's room ready for the baby and decorated it in a rather sickening shade of fucking _pink_ also. He couldn't escape that damn colour if he tried.

He bowed his head a little, peering at Jackie over the top of his shades. "But you know I can't, Jackie, because Mrs. Forman has done that room already n I think you may've had a hand in helping her do it..."

Jackie smiled knowingly. "It' not my fault Mrs. Forman has such exquisite taste in nursery furnishings," she mocked. "Anyway, what does it really matter, Steven? The baby will hardly be in either room. She'll only be in them to sleep. It's really no big deal."

"Well if it's no big deal then why won't you water down some of this putrid colour? It'll give her nightmares, man. No one should have to sleep in this crap."

As Jackie's hand flew to her chest, Rosa flew to Jackie's side and wrapped a protective arm around her waist. "Oh, Mr. Hyde," the maid said calmly. "Miss. Jackie work so hard on this room, what does it matter if it look like candy floss?"

Donna giggled. Jackie frowned at the tall redhead.

Hyde took a deep breath, searching for a reason why it really mattered. But he failed to find one.

"It matters-" he started, "-it matters coz...well it matters -"

"Oh, Hyde," Donna laughed, covering her mouth with her hand for a moment as Hyde shifted on his feet. "Your points about why a pink room matters are just so strong and valid. Please keep going."

"Get bent," Hyde snarled at her before looking back at Jackie. He felt like an idiot. An idiot who had kicked up a stink about nothing. But he had to have some pride, so he said, "Fine, the room can stay as it is -"

"Good, because it was whether you liked it or not," Jackie cut in.

Hyde ignored her comment. "- but I'm letting you know now that I'm going out tonight, and I'm gettin' really, really drunk. So count me out when you need ice cream, or burgers, or potato chips or whatever at 2 in the morning, coz I won't be gettin' 'em for you. You'll have to call Donna."

To Hyde's surprise Jackie calmly nodded and smiled. In fact, everyone in the room bar Hyde was smiling. It was weird and unnerving, so he folded his arms tight across his chest and pursed his lips, until finally Jackie opened her mouth to speak.

"That's fine, Steven," she said. Her left eyebrow arched and Hyde's eyes narrowed. "You go out tonight and get rip roaring drunk. Just make sure you're sober enough to come see your daughter when visiting starts tomorrow at one."

...

Two hours later Jackie was squashed between Donna and Hyde in the El Camino feeling like she was being stabbed from the inside out. The pain was insurmountable and felt never ending. As soon as one contraction finished another one would start and the gaps in between were far too fleeting to bring any real relief. As another one started Jackie clutched Donna's upper arm with both hands and squeezed hard.

"Oh my, God," she cried, her head rolling on Donna's shoulder as she brought her legs up to her chest. "Ooohhhh mmmyyyyy, Gggggooddddddd!"

Donna pat Jackie's head. "Sssshhhhh, Jackie, just try and breathe through it," she said calmly. "Just breathe, Jackie." Donna made some breathing noises, ones she'd clearly seen done in the movies, and Jackie did her best to follow her friend's advice. The reality though, was that labour was not at all like it was in the movies. Jackie wasn't laying on a perfectly made hospital bed making calm breathing noises while Hyde stroked her head with a facecloth. No, the reality was Jackie screaming in agony as the El Camino hit every single bump in the road further contributing to her pain. She let out an almighty curse word as the contraction hit it's peak, slowly quieting when the stabbing feelings subsided.

Jackie's eyes closed in exhaustion and she took Donna's hand in her own. "I can't do this, Donna," she whispered.

Donna stroked her friend's hair from her forehead. "Yes you can, Jackie," she assured her. "You're doing so good already. Your waters broke hours ago and you've managed to stay at home all this time and cope. You're the strongest girl I know n you can so do this."

Donna was right, Jackie had been coping well. When the contractions had started at lunchtime that day they'd been mild, like period cramps, and she'd brushed them off as nothing more than Braxton Hicks. When they began coming more frequently Rosa had called the doctor who'd said to keep Jackie at home for as long as she could handle and Jackie had done just that. She'd busied herself finishing the nursery and packing her hospital bag and had even managed to give herself a mini makeover. The makeover had proved a waste of time though, it had all been washed away during one of the 6 showers she'd taken in the last hour. So yes, Jackie had coped well for the last 7 hours, but she wasn't coping anymore and she didn't think she had it in her to cope for much longer.

"Where's Rosa?" Jackie gripped Donna's hand tightly, her eyes still closed.

"She's following behind us, Jackie. She'll meet us at the hospital when we get there," Donna answered.

Wet tears dripped down Jackie's cheeks and she wiped them away with the back of her hand. "I need Rosa," she cried. "She knows how to rub my back. My back hurts and I need her to rub it." Jackie opened her eyes, the bright light from an oncoming car's headlights piercing her vision. "I need Rosa!"

From her peripheral vision she saw Hyde quickly glance at her then look back at the road.

"Told you she should'a gone with Rosa," he said to Donna.

Donna scowled at him before wrapping her arm around Jackie. "Jackie, Rosa can't rub your back when she's driving. It won't be long, hun. We'll be at the hospital real soon."

Another contraction began to build inside Jackie and she leaned forward, putting her hands on the dash. Before she could cry out in a searing howl, Donna's warm hands were rubbing her lower back. The movement was too gentle, not at all like Rosa's, but it'd do.

'Mu - music..." Jackie gasped, as the contraction ripped through her stomach, around her back, and down between her legs. "I need...mu...music..."

"Hyde, she wants music!" Donna growled in a low whisper. "Put something on!"

Jackie heard Hyde flick through the cassettes under his seat. "I haven't got any disco," he said in a panic. "She'll want disco-"

Jackie pushed hard on the dash, trying to push away the pain, and for a second it worked. "I don't care what it is," she breathed out. "Just music..."

Hyde fumbled around with the cassettes and then shoved a tape into the stereo. Immediately the thunder of a steady drumbeat reverberated throughout the car and through Jackie's body, distracting her from her private torture. She breathed in time to the drumming, deciding this was the best song ever composed, and by the time chaotic guitar chords overlapped the heavy beat the contraction had all but disappeared. Jackie flopped back against the leather seat, this time using Hyde's head as a pillow.

"Thank you," she quietly said, still lost in a world of rock.

She could sense Hyde's nervousness when he put his arm around her and she didn't blame him. He'd been blindsided that afternoon, not expecting their daughter's arrival for at least another three weeks. He should've listened, silly boy, Jackie was always early and had predicted this would happen but Hyde had chosen to take the doctor's word over hers. Not that Jackie was laughing now.

"No problem," Hyde said, kissing the top of her head. "Hey, Jackie," he added, so quietly that Jackie barely heard him over the music.

"Mmmm?" she wearily looked up at him just as he glanced down at her. His blue eyes shone bright as they were illuminated by the light's of oncoming traffic and in them she could see nothing but fear. His fear was probably what was holding him back from helping her tonight, well that and the fact he had to fight Rosa and Donna to get anywhere near her. But Jackie knew he was there, watching intently, worrying endlessly, and she knew the time would come when she'd need him and only him.

He held her a little tighter. "You can do this," he whispered in her ear. "I know you can do this."

Another rush of pain washed over Jackie and before it took her completely she looked up at Hyde. "I hope so..."

...

 _An hour later_

Hyde hung up the phone and fell back against the sterile, white hospital wall. He pinched the bridge of his nose and wondered if there was anyone else he needed to call. So far he'd spoken to Kitty, Eric and Fez and had even sprung the coin to make a long distance call to Jackie's grandmother in Maine. There had to be someone else that needed to know Jackie was in labour though...surely?

A loud slap on the wall next to Hyde's ear disrupted his thought and he looked up to see Donna glaring at him.

"Dillhole! What the hell are you doing out here?" she asked so loudly that the nurse walking by brought her finger up to her lips and gestured 'be quiet' at the redhead.

Hyde nodded toward the payphone next to him. "I'm making calls."

"To who? Everyone in Wisconsin?" Donna was pissed, Hyde could tell. "You've been gone 20 minutes, Hyde. Get back in that room and be there for Jackie."

"She doesn't need me in there, she's got you n Rosa. I'm staying outta the way, man."

"Are you serious? Damn, guys are stupid! Jackie needs all of us right now and you standing out here avoiding the situation is sending her the message that you don't give a fuck! Is that really the message you wanna put out there tonight, Hyde? When all this is over and Jackie is sitting in the bed holding your baby do you really wanna waltz in and be all 'hey, sorry I missed it all, I had calls to make'? 'Cause I dunno if you know Jackie all that well if you think that's gonna fly with her. I think she'll be thinking you were an asshole coward who avoided being there for her coz it was too hard to watch..."

Hyde scratched his beard as he listened to Donna talk. She was right about one thing, seeing Jackie in so much pain was too hard to watch and he was actively avoiding watching because he was a coward. What the hell could he do to help? He hadn't pushed a kid out before therefore he had no idea what to do to ease her pain. He was better off giving her space and letting the females aid her in her time of need.

"Donna," he started, "there's like, nothing I can do to help her. Rosa seems to know what she's doin' n you're a chick, kind of, so you know how to do all that comforting crap. I'm better off out here makin-"

"Calls...yeah, heard you the first time," Donna cut in, her blue eyes narrowing in disdain. "Fine. Make your stupid calls. But you know what, Hyde? I really didn't expect this of you. This shit -" she waved her hand between Hyde and the door to the delivery suite across the hall, "- has Michael Kelso written all over it. But, whatever. I'll let you know when it's over."

With that Donna turned on her heels and scurried back to Jackie's room. When she opened the door Hyde briefly heard Jackie cry out in pain and the sound seemed to fall and rest in the pit of his stomach, remaining there long after the door had closed. He jingled the handful of quarters in his hand contemplating his options. Option one was sitting down on the uncomfortable maroon coloured chair next to the phone and waiting. That was a fairly good option and he'd seen many soon-to-be dads do it in the movies. He could grab a coffee and a magazine and wait out the remaining time knowing he wouldn't be in Jackie's way and wouldn't have to see things that couldn't be unseen. Hyde had to admit that option one was rather tempting.

Option two, on the other hand, had many pros and cons. Being in the room meant helplessly watching the girl he had feelings for scream in agony; agony caused by him and one long, boring summer. Option two was witnessing blood and other gross stuff come out of said girl and that wasn't gonna be pretty. But option two was also being there when the girl he'd come to like - a lot - gave birth to his daughter, and on a scale of things cool and uncool, that would have to be right up there. Hyde looked at one of the quarters in his hand. He could make a toss - heads he'd wait outside, tails he'd go in - or he could just man up and do what he'd promised Jackie he'd do, be there for her. Dropping the quarters back in his pocket Hyde did what was right, he walked toward the delivery suite and opened the door.

Jackie looked at the door, her eyes wide, her face red. "Where have you been?!" she screamed at Hyde as Rosa ran a facecloth over her sweaty brow. "I've started pushing and you weren't even here."

Hyde stood silent for a moment, not sure what to say. The room was chaotic. A doctor in scrubs was between Jackie's legs telling her not to push. Two nurses stood either side of him gawking at Jackie's privates. Machines that were connected to straps around Jackie's stomach beeped loudly providing an annoying soundtrack to the unfolding events. It wasn't how Hyde had pictured it, not that he'd really pictured it at all.

"I..." he mumbled. Donna turned around to look at him. She was at Jackie's side, holding her hand. Hyde licked his lips and stepped toward the bed. "I was making calls," he said lamely.

"Well get over here before you miss it!" Jackie ordered, dropping Donna's hand and reaching for Hyde.

In a nano second he was next to her practically on the bed, holding her hand. She was panting, exhausted, her tired eyes telling him that she needed this to be over, and even though he wasn't the one putting in the hard yards he could kinda relate.

"Sorry I took so long," he said, pushing a strand of wet, sweaty hair behind Jackie's ear.

"I don't care," Jackie panted out. "I'm just pleased you're here."

Hyde stared at Jackie, amazed that after enduring these hours of intense pain she could still look so gorgeous. She was a trooper, he'd give her that.

"I'm pleased I'm here too," he said honestly, glancing over at Donna who was now standing next to Rosa. The redhead winked at him, a silent acknowledgement that he'd done the right thing and his cowardly behaviour would remain a secret between just them. He nodded back at her in thanks.

Jackie's hand tightened around his and she raised her legs. The doctor told her to start pushing and automatically Hyde grabbed her thigh and held it back for her. "Push, Jackie," he encouraged, not taking his eyes off her for a second. "Push, push!"

Jackie pushed in silence, abandoning her earlier screams, choosing to focus all her energy into birthing their baby. Her face grew redder and redder as she pushed harder and harder, fuelled on by the supportive words of those around her.

"I can see her head!" Donna exclaimed. "She has black hair!"

Hyde was tempted to look, but looking meant dropping Jackie's leg which was hooked around his arm. She needed his resistance and he wasn't gonna let her down.

When the contraction finished, Jackie was told to take a well earned break but she left her leg in Hyde's arm and he didn't care one little bit.

"Is she nearly out?" Jackie asked, exhausted.

The doctor smiled. "I'd say that if you keep pushing like that we'll have her out in a few more contractions."

Rosa held a small cup of water to Jackie's lips. "You're doing so good, Miss. Jackie," she said. "You're a natural."

"I've seen her hair!" Donna squealed, bobbing up and down excitedly. "I'm the first one to see your baby!"

Jackie sipped some water then frowned. "Ugh, Donna. Can you _not_ look down there? If I have to banish you from here you know I wi-" Another contraction hit Jackie like a tidal wave and she lurched forward.

"Push!" the doctor ordered, his hands at the ready to catch Hyde's precious bundle. "Push, Jackie, she's almost here!"

With one arm still holding Jackie's leg, Hyde pressed his face as close to Jackie's as he could get. He could feel her sweat, he could almost taste it's saltiness, but as much as tried he could never feel her pain. All he could do was encourage her in the biggest journey she was probably ever going to be on...the journey toward motherhood.

Thirty minutes later Hyde was still holding Jackie's leg, still being the cheerleader he swore he'd never be, still in awe of her strength and determination.

"You can do this, baby," he whispered into her ear. "Push as hard as you can and this will all be over. Soon she'll be in her pink room, baby. Keep goin', Jackie, keep goin'..."

"Push, Miss. Jackie! You can do this!"

"I can see her head...it's nearly out...oh my God, it's out Jackie! She's here!"

At Donna's words, Jackie released her grip on Hyde's hand and fell back onto the bed just as a loud cry filled the room. Hyde's gaze was locked on Jackie. "You did it," he said, astounded at her feat.

She smiled wearily. "I did it," she said. "Finally."

"Oh my God she's perfect!" Donna cried louder than the baby.

Hyde turned to look at his daughter. She was covered in blood and crap and her head was kinda cone shaped, but he had to admit, other than that she was pretty perfect. A nurse rubbed her down with a towel as the doctor presented Hyde with a shiny pair of scissors.

"Would you like to do the honours?" the doctor asked.

Hyde was puzzled. What the hell was he supposed to cut? He wasn't doctor. When it was explained to him that all he'd be hacking into was the umbilical cord Hyde agreed to do it. But when it came to actually doing the deed Hyde had a problem. A problem he hadn't had in years and years, and he wasn't quite sure how to deal with it. So he cleared his throat and turned toward the back of the room, discretely removing his sunglasses. When he brought his sleeve up to his eyes a vision of red hair popped up in front of him. _Crap!_

"Oh my God, Hyde you're crying!" Donna exclaimed, tears running down her own face.

Hyde rubbed his eyes and cleared the lump from his throat again. "No I'm not, just got something in my eye."

Donna pointed at the tear that was just reaching his beard. "Yes you are, there's a tear right there."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are!"

"Shut your pie hole!" Hyde turned around and threw his sunglasses on the table next to Jackie's bed. Jackie had their daughter in her arms now, the umbilical cord still connecting them together. She smiled up at him as she rubbed her cheek across the top of the tiny girl's head.

"She's beautiful," Jackie said softly as Hyde cut the cord. He nodded. Yes the baby was beautiful, but so was her mother. Jackie had never been more beautiful to him as she was right now - covered in sweat, still waiting to deliver the placenta, utterly drained of energy.

"She is," Hyde said, taking the baby from her arms. "And so are you." He quickly shot Donna a look that said 'I really don't need one of your awwww's right now' and thankfully Donna shut her mouth.

With little energy left Jackie pulled her hair into a ponytail, readying herself for the next round of pushing. "What are we gonna name her?" she asked Hyde. "We hadn't even settled on a name yet."

Hyde stroked his little girl's cheek with his fingertip. She was tiny, _so_ tiny. She also semi-resembled an old man right now, what with the squashed up face n all. The only name that sprang to his mind was Mr. Magoo and he knew Jackie wouldn't go for that. Choosing a name that suited their daughter needed to wait until the trauma of being born had settled.

"We don't need to pick a name right now, man." Hyde sat down in the seat next to Jackie's bed, blocking out the busy nurses and nosy Donna and Rosa, and just concentrated on the Mr. Magoo look a like cradled in his arms. "We can do that tomorrow."

"Tomorrow sounds good," Jackie agreed.

"Then tomorrow it is."


	24. Chapter 24

_**A/N: Thank you so so much to the awesome people who reviewed the last chapter, and a special shout out to the guest reviewers who I don't get to personally thank. Your reviews meant loads to me, especially as it had been so long between posts. Thank you!**_

 _ **This chapter is shorter than most and is really just a sweet little moment between Jackie and Hyde...hope you like it! There's no angst - I have to let them be happy for a while right?**_

 _ **Oh, and as we all know, the timeline on the show was crazy which makes writing FF super hard. I'm kind of trying to stick to the show's timeline but it is just confusing and annoying so I'm not stressing about it too much. Right now we're obviously still in Season 5, coming toward the end - but don't panic - no nurses will be popping into Hyde's life in this story!**_

 _ **Anyway, enjoy!**_

* * *

 _The Next Day_

Hyde couldn't shake the grin off his face as he strolled up the corridor towards the maternity unit at Point Place hospital. Even the stench of cleanliness couldn't shift his good mood. Hell, he was fairly sure he'd slept wearing the damn smile and he worried that if he wasn't careful the wind might change and he'd be wearing it permanently. Nah, couldn't happen; no doubt he'd see Kelso today and that'd for sure kill his mood.

Speak of the devil.

"Kelso! Hey, man, what's up?" Hyde said when he turned a corner and saw Kelso loitering outside Jackie's room. At first the stupid grin stayed on Hyde's face, but once he saw the half dozen roses Kelso was holding it was quickly replaced with a scowl.

Kelso kicked himself off the wall with his foot and ran to Hyde, arm outstretched. "Hyde, my man! Congratulations on the kid, dude!" Hyde shook his friend's hand firmly, hoping to break a few fingers in the process. Kelso furrowed his brow. "Ow," he said quietly, pulling his hand away.

"Thanks, man," Hyde grinned. "Have you seen her yet? She's real cute, even though she kinda looks like a little old man, all squished up n shit - don't tell Jackie I said that bit."

Kelso smiled wide eyed, curious about this old man baby of Hyde and Jackie's. "Sounds cool! I've always wanted to see an old man the size of a baby, coz I totally think old people look like babies. Oh, and don't worry, I wouldn't tell Jackie, she went right off when I told her that her grandma looked like my cousin's French Pug."

Hyde nodded. "I bet she did. Anyway, have you been in yet?" he asked, nodding at the closed door.

"Nope, hot nurse said there were too many people in there so someone had to wait outside. Of course I took that bullet coz the nurse was hot n all and I fully thought she just wanted a little Kelso action -" he winked at Hyde. Hyde rolled his eyes. "- but when I turned around she'd disappeared. You think she's playing some kinda hot nurse cat n mouse game? Like where I gotta find her?"

God this guy was dumb.

"Yeah, Kelso, that's totally what nurses who are at work wanna do. Screw saving people's lives, man. They're really just waiting for idiot guys like you to come visit patients and play hide n seek with them. You absolutely have to go find her."

"I agree." Kelso puffed out his chest before looking at the bunch of flowers in his hand. He pulled one stem out and held the rest out to Hyde. "Well can you give these to Jackie for me? Hopefully she doesn't notice there's only five there. Just figured, y'know, the nurse might like a little treat when I find her." He put the rose between his teeth and waggled his eyebrows.

Hyde pushed the other five flowers into Kelso's chest, breaking some stems in the process. "I'm not giving Jackie those flowers."

"Why not?"

"They're red fuckin' roses. Who gives a new mother red roses, man? Not me, and certainly not you when the chick is Jackie. Now take your flowers n go find your nurse."

Hyde steeled himself as Kelso strode off looking deciding dejected. The roses hung limp from the taller guy's hand and Hyde hoped they'd soon be in the trash. He knew Kelso and his flowers shouldn't bother him, especially not today of all days, but it was as though the moron was never gonna give it up. He was always going to pull out the romance card in a lame attempt to woo Jackie back, even when she'd just had a baby. It sickened Hyde to the core. But he wouldn't let it ruin his day.

When Hyde walked into Jackie's room he found the new mother looking a damn sight better than when he'd left her at two that morning. She'd obviously showered and dressed herself in the new nightie she'd bought specifically for the occasion, and somehow between healing and caring for her newborn, she'd found the time to plaster some make-up on. He took her in for a moment, his presence unnoticed by the visitors whose attention was solely on the tiny bundle in the room, before clearing his throat.

"Morning," he said, the smile Kelso had chased away returning to his face.

Kitty looked up at him, but only for a second. The baby in her arms was far more deserving of her attention. "Oh, Steven, this little girl is just precious!" she exclaimed.

"Yeah," Hyde agreed, peeking over Kitty's shoulder to catch a glimpse of his daughter, "she's cool alright." It was with relief that Hyde noticed the swelling around the baby's eyes and nose had subsided and she was beginning to look more baby-like and less like Mr. Magoo. He wondered how the head was doing, making a mental note to check under her little hat later.

"Congratulations, Steven." Red shook Hyde's hand and smiled a warm smile that was very rarely seen. "She's lovely."

"Thanks, Red."

Red's smile faded just as Hyde figured it would, and he looked at Hyde sternly. "So don't go messing her up. I've seen the way you look after your things, losing them left right n centre, trading them in for newer models all the time-"

Okay, Red had to have Hyde confused with Eric. Hyde had kept the same pair of jeans his uncle had bought him four years ago and as far as Hyde was concerned they still looked as good as new. As for trading things in for newer models - Hyde would rather cut off his left pinkie than trade the Camino. Red was talking crazy, but Hyde wasn't gonna argue today.

"Red, don't worry," Hyde interjected. "I don't plan on losing her or trading her in. In fact, I'm pretty sure I won't even drop her -"

Jackie looked up concerned. "Oh you better not drop her!" she warned. "I don't want her ending up like Michael."

"Relax," Hyde said, "she won't be anything like Kelso, because I'll be takin' care of her."

"Oh we'll all be taking care of her," Kitty mused, trying to place the baby into her husband's arms. "Won't we, Red?"

Red stepped back and held his hands up. He didn't want to hold the baby and Hyde didn't blame him. Hyde wouldn't want to hold her either if she wasn't his kid. Newborns were too delicate, too fragile, too easily damaged. They were better left in the care of their parents or women...

"Sure, we'll guide these kids, Kitty, but we won't be taking care of her. We've raised our kids, hell, we're almost rid of the last of them. Its up to Steven and Jackie to raise their child. We can just sit back and tell them all the things they're doing wrong."

Kitty frowned and pressed her lips on the baby's forehead. "But it takes a village, Red..."

Red smirked and crossed his arms. "It takes a village if you _live_ in a village, Kitty. We don't. We live in the civilised world where you clean up your own mess and take care of your responsibilities. Now this little girl -" he flicked the baby's chin gently with his fingertip, "- as cute as she is, she's Steven and Jackie's responsibility so they need to take care of her."

"Ha ha ha!" Kitty laughed, looking at Hyde and shaking her head. "Oh, Red," she said, "this little girl is a part of our family and we're all responsible for her. What's life without family?"

Red shrugged, knowing full well the Forman family had just increased by one. "Something I'll never know."

After Red had managed to pry Kitty away from the baby and taken her home, Hyde was finally able to hold his daughter again. He sat down on the chair and examined her features. She definitely looked better. Her small lips were already showing signs that they would be full and pouty like her mother's, and her skin had settled into a fair, pinky shade which was smooth to the touch.

"Fuck she's cute," Hyde mumbled, pressing his nose to hers.

Jackie gasped. "Steven! Don't cuss around her!"

"She doesn't know what I'm saying. She probably can't even hear yet."

"She can hear, Steven. Every time those damn nurses walk in and out of here she wakes up. You'd think they'd know to be quiet."

Hyde stared at his daughter curiously, wondering what it was like to be her right now. Was she scared being out in the big, wide world? Was she sore from being born? Did she know he was her dad? It mustn't be easy being shoved into the world after being tucked up in the warmth and darkness of Jackie's tummy.

"So she can hear but not see?" he asked Jackie.

Jackie shrugged. "I think so," she replied, sounding unsure herself. "Well, she's not completely blind, but I think she sees more colour and shapes than anything in particular."

"Weird."

"Says the guy who wears sunglasses at night," Jackie teased, siting up in her bed. "Anyway, what's in the bag and what took you so long to get here?" She pointed to the brown paper bag at the end of the bed and Hyde stood up. He picked up the bag, now feeling rather stupid for buying the things for Jackie. When he'd gone to the store on his way to the hospital he'd pondered buying her flowers or balloons or other dumb crap like that but he couldn't do it. He knew that was the type of lame shit she liked, and he knew that she really deserved to get that sort of stuff today, but she'd already witnessed him crying the night before...he had to hold on to some of his Hyde-ness. So he'd settled on something else for her.

He handed her the bag. "Got you a little something on my way here." Jackie took the bag, a brilliant smile overcoming her. "Oh," Hyde added, "and I was late getting here coz I slept in n no one thought to wake me."

Jackie narrowed her eyes. "Did you go out drinking after you left here last night?"

"Yeah, coz there were so many places to go at 2 in the morning," Hyde said sarcastically. Jackie's face fell, her hormones probably unable to cope with his sarcasm. "No, Jackie," Hyde reassured her. "I didn't go drinking. I went home n went to bed. Just overslept I guess."

Satisfied with his answer, Jackie began opening the bag. "Good," she said, her fingers diving in to retrieve her gift. "Because it'd hardly be fair if you were out having fun while I'm stuck here bleeding like a victim of war."

Hyde winced. He'd seen the blood but really didn't wanna think about it.

"Wouldn't be fair at all," he conceded half-heartedly. He went back to gazing at his daughter when Jackie pulled out his completely boring, utterly un-romantic, and thoroughly platonic gifts, not wanting to see her look of disappointment. But when Jackie opened her mouth it wasn't to call him out on his present buying skills.

"The new Vogue!" she cried enthusiastically, her eyes pouring over the glossy cover. "And the latest Cosmo! Oh, Steven, you know me so well."

Reassured he wasn't a complete loser, Hyde settled back into the chair and grinned. "Thought you might like something to read while you're trapped in here. The chocolates are to munch on in between the crap hospital food," he told her.

Jackie examined the box of chocolates, flipping it over to check the flavours. "These look delicious," she said, practically drooling. "I want one now -" she moved to open the box before quickly dropping it on the small table by her bed, "- but I can't...I've gotta get rid of this flabby tummy."

Hyde rolled his eyes at her crazy talk. She looked good, _damn good_. "Jackie, you had a baby less than 24 hours ago. Give yourself a break. Have a chocolate."

Jackie licked her lips and glanced at the box, but smartly changed her mind about indulging. "No, I can't. Well...maybe just one after dinner..." She rolled onto her side and smiled at Hyde. "Thank you, Steven, for the chocolates and the magazines. It was really sweet of you to buy them for me."

Hyde felt his face blush and he shrugged. "No big deal. You deserve a whole lot more after what you went through last night."

"Oh my God," Jackie sighed at the memory and lay her head on her pillow. "Wasn't it horrific? I swear I'm never doing that again. I don't know how people do it six or seven times. Perhaps poor people have a higher tolerance for pain or something?"

Hyde chuckled. "Perhaps they do." He kissed the baby's forehead, totally in awe of her and her mother and wished time would stand still. This was cool, just him, Jackie and the baby. No outside world messing things up. No parental crises to deal with. No schoolyard gossip stirring things up. Just him, Jackie and their daughter; Hyde could be content with that. "Hey," he said, getting Jackie's attention. "Seriously though, what you did last night was pretty amazing, man. I would never have believed you had it in you. You're a strong chick, you know that?"

"I didn't believe I had it in me either and I still can't believe I did it. God it was horrible." Jackie shuddered then opened her eyes and looked straight into Hyde's. "I couldn't have done it without you though, Steven. Thank you for being there with me -"

Remembering the time spent making calls, Hyde cut her off. "I did nothin', Jackie. You don't need to thank me-"

Jackie raised herself up onto her elbow, her chocolate locks falling onto the white hospital linen. "Yes I do. Steven, I would've given up a trillion times if you hadn't been there supporting me-"

"To be fair, I don't think labour's a thing you can really call time on-"

"Whatever. Whether you choose to believe me or not, I really needed you last night, Steven and you came through for me. You came through for us-" Jackie looked at the baby in his arms and the corner of her mouth rose. A mother's love, Hyde could see it right there. "- I'll never forget it. Actually, something else I won't forget is that song you played in the car on the way to the hospital. What was it called?"

Hyde thought back to the car ride the previous night. He hadn't paid much attention to the song, more concerned about the girl next to him practically tearing his dash to pieces.

"Oh," he said, finally remembering. "It was AC/DC, Let There be Rock."

Jackie screwed her face up. "Ugh, I never liked AC/DC."

"I know. But you did last night." Hyde smiled.

"Yeah, well it helped take my mind off the fact your daughter was trying to tear her way out of my vagin-"

Hyde winced again. "Jackie, please," he said silencing her.

Jackie gingerly sat up, her brow furrowed in thought. Hyde wondered what the hell she could be thinking about that related to AC/DC.

After a moment, Jackie spoke. "What are the names of the guys in the band?" she asked.

"What band?"

"AC/DC, silly."

"Oh, um, Angus Young-"

"Yuck."

"-Malcolm Young-"

"Ew."

"-Bon Scott-"

"Oooh!" Jackie cried, flipping her legs over the side of the bed by Hyde. "Bon...Bonnie! We could name her Bonnie!"

Hyde stared at Jackie in disbelief. The pregnancy hormones and the trauma of giving birth were wrecking havoc on her mind if she was seriously considering naming their kid after AC/DC.

"Are you serious?" he asked, holding back a laugh. "You wanna name her after Bon Scott? This is your daughter, Jackie, you love her. And you hate AC/DC."

Jackie flicked her hair over her shoulder and crinkled her nose at Hyde. "But I love that song."

"For all of 19 hours."

Jackie shrugged. "So? Steven, that song got me through that car ride and stopped me hurling myself through the windscreen." She stood up, a little wobbly on her feet, and Hyde reached for her hand to steady her. Sitting down on Hyde's lap, Jackie admired their daughter nestled in his arm. "And don't you think she'd suit the name Bonnie? Look at her...she's a Bonnie."

Hyde looked at the baby and tried hard to see a Bonnie, or more specifically, a Bon. But he couldn't. All he could envision was his daughter getting teased at school for being named Bonnie Hyde. Dammit! He could've forever said his daughter was named after one of the greatest lead singers of all time had he not had Hyde as a last name.

Hyde shook his head. "I'd love to go with you on this one, Jackie, but I have to veto it. It's too close to Bonnie and Clyde. She'll be made fun of forever and I'll end up arrested for beating up school kids."

Jackie's shoulders slumped. "God, you're right," she agreed. "It does sound stupid. But Angus and Malcolm are worse."

"Yeah, I think we just gotta write off AC/DC altogether," Hyde said as another plan formulated in his head.

"Well what are we going to name her then?" Jackie asked, looking perplexed. "We can't agree on any names and I don't want her to be 'Baby Hyde' for too much longer, it makes her sound like an orphan...no offence."

"None taken."

As Jackie wrapped an arm around Hyde's neck and snuggled her head onto his shoulder, Hyde prepared himself to ask the big question. A name he liked had been rattling around his head for a while but he'd figured Jackie would never in a million years go for it. She liked girly names... _really_ girly names, like flipping Crystal, and this name wasn't girly at all. But if he didn't ask he'd never know, so he may as well go for it.

"So, Jackie, AC/DC might be out but you always kinda liked Aerosmith right?" he said tentatively.

"I like a couple of their songs."

Dammit...why hadn't he randomly pulled out an Aerosmith cassette last night?

"What do you think of Tyler as a name?" He spat the words out as fast as they could come while he had the courage to ask. After what Jackie had been through - giving birth to their child - he really felt he should relinquish any and all naming rights to her alone. But his daughter wouldn't thank him for that in the long run; no one wants to go through life named Coco. That was a hot beverage not a name.

"Tyler? As in Steven Tyler?"

Well she hadn't immediately shut him down. That had to be a good thing.

"Yeah, I guess," Hyde said. "But more just coz I like the name Tyler."

Jackie stroked the baby's cheek and whispered 'Tyler'. She paused for a second before saying, "But isn't Tyler a boy's name? Or a last name?"

"Well, I s'pose, but who cares, man? Like, as long as we like the name does it really matter? All this 'girl's name/boy's name' stuff...what's the bet in a few years no one will even care."

Jackie raised an eyebrow. "Steven, can you honestly imagine a boy named Melissa or a girl named Wyatt? I don't think times are gonna change that much." She looked at the baby again. "But, I do kinda like Tyler and I did want her to have an original name. There are far too many people naming their babies Jennifer and Jessica right now."

Hyde fought back the urge to grin, it was too soon for that and nothing was written on paper yet. He had to play it cool.

"Sooooo, you're leaning towards Tyler?" he calmly asked.

A smile crept across Jackie's lips and she nodded. "You know what, I think I am," she said. "In fact, I think we've just named our daughter. Tyler Rose Hyde-"

"Rose?" Hyde questioned.

Jackie waved a disinterested hand. "After Rosa. Don't tell her that though, I don't want her thinking she's more important than she really is."

Hyde laughed and squeezed his arm around Jackie's waist. "Oh I'm sure Rosa will never guess," he said dryly.

"So it's settled." Jackie scooped little Tyler up out of Hyde's arm and kissed her lips. The baby opened her dark grey eyes for a moment before they fluttered closed again against the comfort of her mother's chest. "Her name is Tyler."

Hyde grinned, satisfied in too many ways to count, until he thought about announcing the name to certain people. "Red and Kitty are gonna kill us..."


	25. Chapter 25

_Three Weeks Later_

Waking up to the sound of Red Forman yelling was something Hyde was used to and surprisingly it didn't bother him all that much. Usually he'd spend five seconds chuckling to himself before rolling over and going back to sleep. But lately, thanks to Eric and Donna's engagement revelation, the frequency of the arguments had intensified, and as Hyde was only just surviving on minimal sleep he could no longer ignore them.

Opening a heavy eyelid he checked the time. It was only five past eight. He sighed. What the hell was there to argue about at 8.05 on a goddamn Saturday morning? _Oh that's right,_ Hyde thought, _the not-so-little matter of teenage nuptials._

Deciding that so long as Eric and Red were within earshot sleep would not be forthcoming, Hyde got out of bed and trekked his way toward the battlefield. The high-pitched whine of Eric's voice was piercing as Hyde stepped into the basement.

"But none of this is my stuff! Why should I have to spend my Saturday morning sorting it?"

Red folded his arms across his chest and stared at his son. "Because you're a man now, Eric...or so you keep telling me." He handed Eric a green fly swatter, it's rubber mesh almost broken in two. "Now if you see any of those creepy crawly things you don't like just hit 'em with this."

"But it's broken," Eric pointed out. "It won't kill anything."

"Well how 'bout this," Red said with a smirk. "If you see a spider or a roach in that there box, why don't you just start telling it all about your life. Start with how you couldn't catch a ball and end with how you got engaged when you were still at high school. I'm sure by the time you're finished with your story the damn thing would've died in disappointment-"

Eric's face fell as he placed his hand on his stomach. "But, Dad, I haven't even had breakfast yet. I'm a growing boy, I gotta eat."

"Should've thought about that before you started handing out rings willy nilly to neighbour girls then huh?" Red scoffed. "Men get married, Eric, not boys, and since you're getting married I guess that makes you a man. And guess what? Men clean out boxes of crap from basements; boxes that sometimes have roaches the size of my foot in them. So stop thinkin' about your goddamn stomach and start clearing this mess up!"

Hyde cleared his throat, signalling his presence, and waved a hand at the two men before mumbling a 'good mornin' and starting up the stairs. It might have been fun to stick around and watch the show but unfortunately, like most things in his life right now, Hyde just didn't have the time or the patience for it. Heavy eyes insisted he headed north, toward a - hopefully - quieter room and he wasn't going to fight that insistence just to watch Red's foot fly up Eric's ass.

When he reached the bedroom door Hyde didn't bother knocking. The call of the bed was too strong. The sound of silence too enticing.

"Shift over," he whispered to the lump in the bed as he dragged himself toward it.

Jackie's eyes looked as tired as Hyde's felt, and she barely opened them as she did what she was told and shuffled closer to the wall.

"How long we got?" Hyde asked softly, sliding into the bed next to Jackie.

"A while," she answered him. "She woke at six and didn't go back down again 'til nearly seven. If she wakes before nine I'll die."

"What? Why didn't you come get me at six? I told you to wake me if I didn't hear her."

Amongst the chaos and stress of the last three weeks, somehow a decent arrangement had finally been made regarding Jackie's living situation. To nobody's - except Jackie's - surprise, Pam still wasn't back from Brazil. She'd called, sent flowers, sent gifts, but hadn't bothered showing her face, so it'd been left to the Forman's and Rosa to sort who would take care of Jackie and the baby at night. No one, including Hyde, wanted the new mother left alone with the baby through the dark hours so Rosa had agreed to sleep at the Burkhart's from Monday to Wednesday, and the Forman's had offered Jackie what was Laurie's old room but was now a nursery, from Thursday to Sunday. Jackie had been a reluctant guest though, just as Hyde knew she would. She was not a charity case and she didn't need looking after. Not by anyone. But Rosa had a family of her own that needed her, and Hyde needed time with his daughter, so Jackie had eventually agreed to the arrangements just so Hyde could be near his baby. Not so that anyone could take care of her of course.

"Steven you worked 'til midnight last night then got up at three to change her. I didn't expect you to get up again. You need sleep."

Jackie wasn't wrong. Hyde did need sleep. But so did Jackie which is why between juggling school and work Hyde tried to help her as much as he could.

"I still woulda got up," he mumbled, nearly asleep under the soft, downy duvet, his head cushioned by the feathery pillow.

Jackie turned to face him. "Why are you in here anyway?" she whispered. "If Red catches you he'll kill you."

Not opening his eyes, Hyde replied, "He's busy killing Forman. You see, right now Red can only deal with one wayward teen n looks like today Eric's it." Just then, a gurgling noise not unlike the sound of a tub draining, brought Hyde back to reality. "Jackie?" he said, eyes now open wide. "What the hell was that?"

Blushing, Jackie climbed over Hyde and got out of the bed. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were droopy in exhaustion, but to Hyde she was still the most gorgeous girl n the world.

"That was my stomach, Steven," Jackie replied in obvious shame. "I'm starving. Breastfeeding makes-"

"Breastfeeding makes you hungry," Hyde finished for her, nestling back into the bed. "Go eat. I could smell pancakes when I came up here so if you hurry you should beat Kelso n Fez to the last of them."

"But I need a shower too." Jackie pointed to the front of her nightgown, her face skewered in disgust at the wet patches where her breasts had leaked in the night. "God, I'm like a big fat cow...leaking milk everywhere and hungry all the time. I can't go down there like this, Fez will probably start lapping at my boobs with his desperate tongue."

Hyde smiled as he shook the disturbing image of Fez suckling Jackie from his mind. "Go have a shower," he said, waving his hand at the door. "Then go get some breakfast. Mrs. Forman always puts a plate aside for you so you're sweet. I'll bring Tyler down when she wakes up."

"But you need to sleep, Steven-"

"Just go!" Hyde ordered in a raised whisper.

"Thank you," he heard before the door softly closed behind Jackie leaving him to get some much needed shut eye.

...

Giving all credit to whoever invented showers, twenty minutes later Jackie was feeling a damn sight better than when she'd first woken up. It was amazing what hot water, soap, and clean clothes could do for one's spirit and as Jackie entered the Forman's kitchen she wondered when she'd become such a basic girl.

Oh yeah...three weeks ago when morning showers in peace ceased to exist.

"Well good morning, Jackie!" Kitty greeted the new mother with a beaming smile. "How was your night?" She handed Jackie a plate of blueberry pancakes which Jackie contemplated eating right there at the stove. But no, she may've felt like a starving pig but that didn't mean she had to act like one. She could make it to the table with all three pancakes in tact.

"A little better," Jackie said sitting down at the table next to Donna. "She woke at 12, then 3, then again at 6. So I guess all up I got 10 minutes sleep." Donna looked at Jackie in disbelief which Jackie returned with an eyeroll. "Kidding, Donna! I got like, six hours sleep, which believe me, is nothing to scoff at."

"I don't know how you do it," Donna remarked, slicing the last of her pancake into tiny little pieces. "Man, if I get less than eight hours a night I'm a freaking mess. When I have kids Eric better work out a way to breastfeed coz I'm sure as hell not doing it."

Over Donna's shoulder Jackie saw Kitty's eyes narrow and her lips thin. The Forman's were not happy about Donna and Eric's engagement and Donna spouting off about babies and Eric lactating surely wouldn't help ease the tension. The family drama did have it's upside though. Now, instead of sitting around the house nursing Tyler and watching reruns on TV, Jackie could nurse Tyler and watch a real life melodrama unfold around her. It made for good entertainment while Hyde was at work anyway, and for once the drama didn't involve Jackie.

Kitty placed the frying pan rather loudly in the sink prompting both girls to look at her. "Now, Donna," Kitty said as she wiped her hands down the front of her apron skirt, "Babies usually come after marriage so if you don't think you're ready to be a mother and tend to a little one perhaps you should rethink this whole wedding plan of yours?"

Donna frowned. "Not _all_ couples have children as soon as they get married, Mrs. Forman," she explained.

"Well of course not," Kitty said, "especially not the ones who are still children themselves. So one has to wonder why they need to get married in such a rush then? Why not just date and have fun and go off to college-"

"We're still gonna do all of that, Mrs. Forman. We'll just be engaged while we're doing it."

Looking rather perplexed, Kitty finally said, "Well if you're not rushing to start a family I just don't see the point of you and Eric getting married?"

Donna sighed before turning back to Jackie. " _Anyway,_ Jackie, when is my little niece gonna be up? I was thinking maybe I could take her for a walk or something. I miss her, I haven't seen her since Thursday."

"Feel free to visit her for cuddles anytime," Jackie smiled. "She's always up for bonding with her favourite Aunty...midnight...two in the morning...four in the morning...those are real good times for me."

Oh, what Jackie wouldn't do for a decent night's sleep...

It wasn't that she begrudged her new role as mother. In fact, Jackie had surprised herself with how easily she had adjusted to putting someone else's needs before her own. She loved Tyler dearly and she also loved how much Hyde loved their daughter. He was amazing with her and more helpful than Jackie had ever imagined he'd be. But he couldn't breastfeed, and nor could anyone else, so the maximum amount of uninterrupted sleep time Jackie was getting was three hours and it was starting to take it's toll.

"You're on your own there midget," Donna laughed. "During daylight hours I'm up for any time I can get with that cute little button, but after ten she's all yours."

"Don't I know it," Jackie said as she shoved quarter of a pancake in her mouth, not noticing Fez and Kelso's arrival.

"Good morning, ladies," Fez smiled, sitting down in Red's seat next to Jackie. "How are we all on this most beautiful sunny morning?"

Kelso's hand fell on Jackie's shoulder and gently squeezed. "Well Jackie's dressed today so things are looking better than yesterday," he remarked, before adding, "In more ways than one, if ya get what I mean?"

Jackie dropped her fork on her plate and looked up at her ex. God he was infuriating, and the sly wink he shot her only made her madder. "Oh shut your mouth, Michael," she spat at him. "I have a baby now remember? Some days I have time to get dressed, other days I don't because unlike you I have somebody else besides myself to worry about now and her needs come first. So sorry if my appearance disgusts you, maybe you should find somewhere else to freeload until I'm no longer a human milking machine?"

The kitchen fell silent until Fez made some strange remark about cutting tension with a fork and Kelso made a lame attempt at an apology. It was an awkward breakfast, what with Kitty and Donna's earlier exchange and Jackie's outburst at Kelso, but the new mother didn't care. She was too tired and too wrapped up in the deliciousness and newness of motherhood to care about verbal wars between herself and others. So when she'd finished her pancakes and Donna asked her to sit outside, Jackie barely batted an eyelid in Kelso's direction as she swanned out to the porch with her friend.

"So what was all that about?" Donna said as she leaned against the wooden railing and stared down at Jackie.

Jackie shrugged. "What?"

"You and Kelso, why are you so mad at him all the time? He was only teasing and to be fair we all give you crap at the moment about you living in your pj's. Is something up?"

Jackie picked at the cuticle on her pinky finger wondering what the hell Donna was on about. She wasn't mad at Kelso all the time...well she _was,_ but she didn't think she'd made it that obvious.

"I'm not treating Michael any differently," she stated, crossing one denim clad leg over the other while internally congratulating herself for finally fitting her pre-pregnancy wardrobe again. "I treat him like the same dog he always was."

Donna grinned and raised her eyebrows. "Really? Coz i swear to God that lately you've been slapping that dog's nose with a newspaper the second he scampers into the room. You don't even give him a chance to bite anymore. Not that he ever really bites anyway, he's been really sweet to you ever since you had Tyler."

"Oh, Donna," Jackie said, eyes trained on her nails. "Michael is _always_ a dog. Perhaps you're just too busy in your engagement bubble to notice?"

Donna furrowed her brow. "How can you say that? He's brought you and Tyler gifts and offered to hold her when she's fussing. He's made you hot drinks and brought you magazines to read. He's gone over and above his duty as an ex-boyfriend. In fact, he's actually been a better friend than I have -" a look of disappointment washed over the red-head's face, "- dammit! How the hell did that moron overtake me in the friend department?!"

"Don't panic, lumberjack," Jackie assured Donna. "While there are still numerous things you need to work on - like curling my hair without giving me third degree burns - you're still a better friend than Michael Kelso."

"Why thank you, Jackie," Donna said somewhat sarcastically. "But I still gotta know what's up with you n Kelso. You're being meaner than usual and you don't even have the pregnancy hormones to blame anymore. C'mon, tell me, what's he done?"

Jackie groaned and folded her arms across her swollen chest. Usually she would relish this kind of girly chat but her new role as a mother made the whole thing rather uncomfortable. If she told Donna that Kelso had asked her to the upcoming prom she would also have to tell her that she was tempted to go. But then she would have to tell her it wasn't Kelso she wanted to go _with._ Jackie would have to say that she wanted Hyde to take her which would probably make Donna laugh because as far as everyone knew Jackie and Hyde were friends who shared a child together, not friends who often shared a bed and feelings with each other.

"Well?" Donna said breaking Jackie's train of thought. "What's up? And don't say nothing because I can tell something's going on in that head of yours because you're chewing the crap out of your bottom lip."

Jackie abruptly stopped biting her lip. "Fine! Michael asked me to go to prom with him okay?"

Donna looked curiously at her friend. "So? You're mad with him for that? Isn't that right up your alley? Shouldn't you be all giddy with excitemnt or something?"

"Sure, if it was this time last year that he'd asked me maybe," Jackie replied. "But things have changed, I've changed-"

Donna shrugged. "You've had a baby but that doesn't mean you can't go to prom. You're seventeen, you deserve to go out n have some fun."

"But I don't want to go out and have fun with _Michael_ ," Jackie explained defiantly. "And I wish he'd never asked me 'cause now he's made everything awkward."

Jackie thought back to the previous Monday night when Kelso had shown up at her door dressed in a nice shirt and dress pants. In his right hand he'd held a dozen red roses, in his left a poem he'd written for her. He'd blushed as he read the stupid thing aloud to Jackie, and she'd cringed for him internally, not reciprocating the feelings he'd described. Thankfully Jackie had been holding Tyler who also must've hated Kelso's dreadful poem as she'd started screaming toward the end giving Jackie an excuse to tell Kelso she'd get back to him with an answer at a more convinient time. That time hadn't come though and instead she spent her days snapping at him or dodging him, all the while hoping Hyde wouldn't find out. Tired Hyde plus angry Hyde was not a Hyde Jackie could handle right now.

"So you don't wanna go to prom?" Donna asked surprised.

"Oh I want to go to prom. Can you just imagine everyone's faces when they see how good I look after just having a baby?" Jackie felt her smile grow as she pictured herself walking into the school gymnasium dressed in the gorgeous pink gown her mother had sent from Brazil. "I just don't want to go with _him._ "

Donna nodded. "I guess it'd be kinda weird but I dunno...I just kinda thought you'd always end up with Kelso somewhere down the track, and you gotta admit, it's sweet he asked you..."

Jackie raised her brows. "In what universe did you ever think I'd get back together with Michael? Donna, he cheated on me a million times-"

"And you always took him back," Donna shrugged.

"But now I have a baby and other options," Jackie said rising to her feet. "Better options."

"Oh yeah?" Donna grinned. "Like who? You haven't left the house in three weeks. Do you have a penpal none of us know about?" She grabbed Jackie's forearm. "Oh wait, don't tell me it's some sad guy in prison who's looking for love on the outside, 'cause I'm telling you now, Jackie, he won't get furlough just to attend the Point Place High prom," she mocked.

"Shut up, Donna, he's not a dirty prisoner," Jackie said, her tone low as she thought of her dad in jail.

"Who is he then?"

Before Jackie could divulge anymore, the sliding opened and Jackie looked over to see Hyde cradling Tyler in his right arm.

"Who's who?" he asked sleepily.

"Oh no one," Jackie said waving her hand dismissively, unsure if it was the euphoria most new mothers felt or something solely unique to her, but just the sight of her baby's daddy made Jackie slightly giddy. Steadying herself as she rushed over to him, her eyes swept over Hyde's grubby jeans, up to his white singlet, across to his toned bicep, until they finally rested on his sleepy blue eyes. She smiled as he let out a yawn. "Ignore Donna and her school girl rubbish talk."

Donna half snorted and half laughed. "Oh yeah, ignore me," she said sarcastically as she stepped toward Hyde and the baby. "Awwww, can I hold her."

"At your own peril," Hyde warned. "She's hungry, therefore grumpy n not someone you wanna be holding unless you absolutely have too."

Donna stepped back as Tyler let out a piercing cry. "Okay, I'll go find Eric and come back when she's fed," she said as she made her way into the kitchen. "I'll catch you guys later."

"Well I'll hold her." Jackie scooped her daughter out of Hyde's arm and swiftly began planting kisses on her chubby cheeks. "Oh she's so warm and squishy," she said between kisses, ignoring the cries that were louder than Bob's lawnmower.

"And hungry," Hyde reminded Jackie. "So where are you feeding her?"

Jackie glanced inside, annoyed when she saw Kelso and Fez were still in the kitchen. "Upstairs?"

Hyde nodded and moved aside allowing Jackie to go first. "Upstairs it is."

Once in her part-time bedroom, Jackie propped herself up on the bed with pillows behind her, and was relieved when Tyler latched onto her breast without hassle. Breastfeeding was demanding and harder than Jackie had anticipated but she was perservering because it was better for baby and also so Hyde didn't have the extra pressure of forking out for formula every week. He was already doing so much for Jackie and the baby and she appreciated every bit of it. But after her conversation with Donna, Jackie couldn't help but wonder if Hyde's generosity would extend just a little further.

With the baby happily feeding, Jackie looked down at Hyde dozing next to her on the bed.

"Steven," she whispered, smiling when Tyler opened her eye and focused it on her mother.

"Mmmhmm," Hyde murmured.

Jackie stroked the fine curls on Tyler's head. "Prom's coming up..." she started nervously, waiting a few moments for Hyde to say something, disappointment setting in when he didn't. "And I wouldn't mind going..."

Hyde opened his eyes and met Jackie's gaze. "So go?"

"By myself?" she asked. Did he not know her at all? Jackie would be the laughing stock if she turned up to the biggest event on the school calendar alone. It wouldn't matter what she was wearing or how good she looked, all everybody would see was the empty space beside her.

Hyde shrugged.

"Steven, I can't go by myself. That'd be social suicide," Jackie informed him.

"You said having a kid would be social suicide n that turned okay didn't it?"

" _Eventually_. People are only just getting over that, Steven. I can't show up to prom on my own or I'd be back where I was a few months ago, at the bottom of the heap with only Eric and Fez as friends."

Hyde grinned as he rolled from his stomach to his back. "And me...you'd have me as a friend. I'd still take you to the Hub day after prom for a burger even if you are a loser."

Jackie used her free hand to pinch his shoulder causing him to wince loudly. "I'm serious, Steven," she said through pursed lips. "I want to go to prom and I want you to take me."

"I don't do proms, Jackie" Hyde told her seriously. "Take Fez."

"But I don't want to go with Fez, I want to go with you." The words left an aftertaste in Jackie's mouth that was hard to swallow. Here she was again, being honest with Hyde with no way of knowing how he would react. Sure he had been sweet since Tyler had been born, showing more affection than usual, always quick with a hug or a kiss when no one was around. But there had been no talk in a while about what their relationship was and they'd both become used to this form of 'them; neither one wanting to ruin it by messing with what was a good thing. Could prom be the potential deal breaker?

Hyde swallowed hard and looked up at Jackie. "And I said I don't do proms."

"You did a couple of years ago when you took me," Jackie reminded him.

"And look how that turned out." Hyde's eyes narrowed and Jackie knew exactly what he was referring to - her in Kelso's arms despite wearing the corsage Hyde had so thoughtfully bought for her. She cringed at the memory before reminding him that the night didn't turn out so bad for him in the end.

"Yeah, with you banging Pam Macy in my dad's car!" Jackie's raised tone distratcted Tyler from her feed and she fell off the breast. Jackie picked the little bundle up, propping her up on her shoulder and gently rubbing her back. "Ssssshhh, bubba," she whispered soothingly. "Have a little burp..."

"The only reason i banged her was coz you were busy groping Kelso on the dance floor," Hyde said as he gruffly sat up and put his hands out. "Here, give her to me. I burp her better than you."

Jackie ignored him and held on firmly to her baby. Why - she didn't know. It had become routine to hand the little one over to Hyde for burping but right now Jackie needed her in her own arms. Maybe it was to visually remind Hyde that they'd come so far since the last prom they'd gone to together. Maybe it was to remind him that she'd had his child and he therefore owed it to her to take her.

But maybe it was to remind herself of the reasons she c _ouldn't_ go with Michael Kelso.

Jackie kissed the top of Tyler's head, breathing in her milky scent. "Please, Steven," she said softly. "Please come with me to prom. I really, _really, w_ ant to go." She felt Hyde shuffle in the bed and when she looked over at him all she was met with was the back of his head. She sighed.

"Jackie," Hyde said. "I'm freakin' tired as hell n the last thing I wanna do is talk about prom let alone _go_ to the damn thing. If you wanna go, then go. I'll babysit." He yawned and within a couple of minutes his steady breaths indicated he was fast asleep.

Jackie continued to rub Tyler's back and when a burp escaped her little lips Jackie positioned her ready for the next breast. With the baby properly latched, Jackie's head fell back against the wall as she thought about the man sleeping next to her, the man downstairs waiting for an answer, and the pretty pink dress hanging in her closet.

* * *

 ** _A/N: So sorry for the huge delay since the last chapter. Life gets in the way sometimes but I hope some people are still with me! Thank you to those who reviewed the last chapter, I love reading them x_**


	26. Chapter 26

"What if I cleaned your room every week until the end of the year?"

"I'd say that was a deal you couldn't make good on, and still say no." Hyde ignored Jackie's look of deflation and tried to conceal his smile as he pushed the pram up Kenosha's busy main street.

Dodging the other shoppers, Jackie quickened her step to keep up with Hyde. "But it'd be a promise and I always keep my promises."

"Somehow I doubt you'd keep that promise," Hyde said, remembering Jackie's face each and every time she walked into his bedroom at the Formans'. The girl was a princess through and through and not in a Cinderella sort of way. She hadn't started from the bottom and worked her way up in life, she'd been born into her pampered position and Hyde was pretty sure she wasn't about to clamber back down a few rungs. Not even if it meant going to prom.

"But I would..." Jackie offered.

"Jackie, I'm not going to prom, okay? Not even if you scrubbed my room from top to bottom with your tongue."

"What if I wore those little shorts you like? And that crop top, the one that barely covers anything?"

Hyde thought over her offer. She did look damn good in those shorts and with all the sunbathing she'd been doing lately he just knew those legs would be as tanned from the knees up as they were down. And that crop top...that tiny white crop top was every man's dream, and every boyfriend's worst nightmare. God, she'd look like something straight out of a magazine in that ensemble, except she wouldn't be in a magazine, she'd be right in front of him _c_ _leaning his room!_

"Well..." With all the blood flowing from his head to his nether regions, Hyde pondered her offer, until he remembered his part of the whole deal and was jolted back into reality. He gripped the plastic handle of the pram tightly. "No, Jackie, no deal-" he said sternly.

For a second Jackie's bottom lip dropped. But then, like the wheeler dealer she'd always been, a new idea entered her head and she flashed a bright smile. "Your car then? I'll wash the Camino every week 'til the end of the year. Just think of the time you'll save not having to wash and polish it all the time? You can spend that time with Tyler. It's win win!"

It could've been win win, Hyde thought, if winning didn't mean he would have to dress up in a fancy suit and play nice for a night with all the tools at Point Place High. He knew going to prom meant a lot to Jackie but no amount of pouting or deal making was gonna cut it this time. He'd done it for her before. Gone the whole nine yards, even down to the stupid corsage, and it'd gotten him nowhere. For his hard work all he'd been rewarded with was a quick roll in the back of a Lincoln with Pam Macy. Oh, that and a front row seat to watch Jackie cosy up with Kelso, _again._ And Hyde wasn't about to watch that happen, _again._

Things between him and Jackie were good now. Sure, she'd lost some of that pregnancy-hormone-bedroom-freakiness he'd really liked about her, but even without the sex he still found himself enjoying her company. Surprising even himself, it was the mundaneness of their new lives that Hyde enjoyed the most. They watched TV, played with - or rather, stared at - Tyler, cooked dinners, played board games; all activities that a year ago Hyde would've put in a box labelled, "Things to do when you hit 30 and your life's over." But now he looked forward to doing that crap with Jackie and a prom just didn't fit into the mix. Prom held bad memories that needed to stay well in the past.

"C'mon, Jackie, we've been over n over this, man. I don't wanna go."

"Fine." Jackie's head flicked to the side and she pretended to be intrigued by a window display, but Hyde wasn't fooled. His insides twisted as his mind scrambled to find a way out of this. He hated feeling like this. Guilt had to be the worst feeling out.

"Look, how 'bout we go to the movies or somethin'?" he offered, nervously glancing her way to try and catch her eye. "We can do whatever you want-"

Jackie frowned, her eyes trained on the shop windows. "Whatever I want so long as it's not the prom?"

Hyde nodded. "You're catchin' on, grasshopper. Took you a while but you finally got it." He smiled. She didn't.

"But I don't get it, Steven." Jackie stopped walking and folded her arms, not caring that her failure to keep moving on the bustling sidewalk inconvenienced others. Hyde shifted the pram out of the way and pulled Jackie to a spot by a window and out of the way of the shoppers.

"What don't you get?"

She looked up at him. "I don't get why you can't just come with me. What's the big deal? It's just prom. It's just another dance at school."

"Exactly, it's just another dance at school, Jackie. So what's the big deal? Why do you need to go so bad?"

"I've already told you a hundred times why I want to go-"

Hyde rolled his eyes. Yes she had told him _a_ _t least_ a hundred times why she wanted to go to the stupid dance. "To show everyone how good you look blah blah blah"

"That's right."

"And I've already told you why I don't wanna go." Hyde looped a thumb into the pocket of his jeans while his other hand gently rocked the pram back and forth. He couldn't believe he had to rattle off his reasons to Jackie again, especially now, standing on the main street of Kenosha at 4 o'clock on a Friday afternoon. But he would. Maybe the change of setting would help her remember them this time. "I'm at that freakin' school everyday, Jackie, and when I'm not there I'm at work. I'm like a damn robot - but not a cool one that does awesome shit like spy on the government n stuff. I'm like a dork robot that has to do shit it doesn't wanna do all the time. Now, when I get free time to do cool stuff I want to _actually do cool stuff_ , like hang with Tyler. So when you talk about going back to school, in my own time, dressed like a moron, it just doesn't appeal to me, coz I'd rather be hangin' with my kid. Capeesh?"

Jackie stared at him for a moment. Her face expressionless. "Oh fine!" she finally said, stomping a foot on the concrete path below her. "I guess I can't really argue with that."

"And yet you try." Hyde grinned. He'd won. He'd finally won!

"Well of course I tried," Jackie said as she nudged him out of the way and began pushing the pram. "I'm not a quitter, Steven, you should know that by now."

Of course he knew that. Seven hundred break-ups and make-ups with Kelso told him that.

Jackie continued, "Your reasons are valid I suppose, and I guess your free time should be spent doing stuff you want to do."

"Thank you." Hyde nodded and shoved his hands in his pockets as he walked beside Jackie.

"And the money we have saved should be spent on necessities and the prom isn't really one." The pain at saying the words came through loud and clear in Jackie's voice but Hyde had to admire her anyway. She was still a princess, but a princess who'd learned to prioritise what was important in life.

"And neither is Fez's birthday."

The back of Jackie's hand flew against Hyde's chest and she crinkled her forehead. "He's our friend, Steven, and we're getting him a gift whether you like it or not. He always buys for us remember so it's courtesy for us to buy for him."

"Buys for us?" Hyde questioned. "He tells us he bought us candy, Jackie, then tells us he's eaten it. The only courtesy we owe him is to buy a big fat joint, smoke it, then tell him how awesome it was." He grinned and waggled his eyebrows. "You into that plan?"

Jackie frowned again before pointing to a menswear store up ahead. "No, Steven, me, my baby, and my breastmilk are so not into that plan. Now come on, the shirt Fez liked was in that store. Let's hope it's still there."

...

Later that evening, Jackie sat curled up on the old couch in the basement struggling to stay awake. Tyler was in her arms, sleeping blissfully, not at all bothered by the chatter going on around her. And as crazy as it sounded, Jackie was rather jealous of her daughter, because for once in her life Jackie would rather be asleep than talking about the prom.

"I just can't believe you're not coming," Pauline said, holding her beautiful off-white dress up in front of her, the contrast of colour electrifying her blue eyes and black hair. Jackie just knew Pauline was going to look amazing next week.

Jackie shrugged. "No big deal," she lied; prom _was_ a big deal to her, but unfortunately it wasn't to Hyde and instead of spending the next century arguing with him over it Jackie had let it go. That's right, Jackie had been the bigger person and caved. God, motherhood had softened her. "I can always go next year," she added.

"Yeah but we can't," Donna, who was sitting in the lawn chair, reminded her. "So it won't be the same."

Having shown Jackie her dress, Pauline returned it to the gown bag hanging on the back of the door and zipped the bag up. She turned to Jackie. "That's right it won't. And haven't we spent the last three months planning this night? Wasn't this what got you through those torturous last few weeks of your pregnancy? You have to come, Jackie. You just have too."

"For once midget, I agree with the cheerleader." Donna grinned over at Pauline who acknowledged the redhead's comment with a bemused frown. Over the last few months, pushed along by Jackie, the two girls had struck up a nice little friendship. Outwardly and inwardly they were polar opposites, but they had Jackie in common and as she constantly reminded them, that was more than enough to build a friendship on. Donna winked at Pauline and continued, "You should totally come. We're all gonna be there and the Formans would totally babysit Tyler. It'll be like our last big hurrah together before me and Eric go to Madison. Plus you get to wear a pretty dress and burn Kat. How can you say no to that?"

How _could_ Jackie say no to that? With much difficulty, that's how.

Inviting the girls over that night had seemed like a good idea. A boy's night had been planned to celebrate Fez's birthday and while initially Hyde had been reluctant to leave Tyler and go, Jackie had managed to persuade him a night out would be good for him. Stupidly, she'd figured a night with the girls would be good for her too. But she hadn't planned on the girls bringing prom dresses. God, showing a prom dress to Jackie when she couldn't go to prom was like handing a bottle of whisky to an alcoholic right before his first AA meeting. The temptation was real. The pain was excrutiating. And she was regretting her decision to hang out with Donna and Pauline. A night alone with Tyler would've been much wiser because Tyler couldn't talk about the damn prom...or anything else.

"Look you two, I said I'm not going and I'm not changing my mind, okay?" Jackie said through gritted teeth. "The one person I wanted to go with doesn't wanna go and I don't wanna go without him. So just drop it already. Can't we just go back to talking about how good I look right now?"

"But we talk about that everyday." Donna grinned and twirled her red head around her index finger. "I wanna know who this mystery guy is that won't take Princess Jackie to the ball."

"Duh!" Pauline cried, shaking her head at Donna. "I swear you should be a blond, Donna! He's no mystery guy. It's obvious to everyone, except those of you who lurk down here in this dank basement, who he is." Pauline's eyes swept around the room and she scrunched her nose. Jackie smiled. Pauline was a sweetheart and had been a wonderful friend to Jackie but she did have an element of snobbery about her. But who was Jackie to judge? She'd been hanging in this dank basement for years and still washed her hands every time she left it.

Donna looked quizzically at Pauline then at Jackie. "Who? Hyde?" she asked. "Is Hyde the guy you wanna go to prom with?"

Jackie rolled her eyes. She was over pretending her and Hyde were just friends. "Of course I want Steven to take me, Donna. Why would I go with anybody else? He's Tyler's dad and he's my best friend, I want to spend my prom with him."

Pauline smiled and cupped her hands over her heart. "Awwwwwwww!"

But Donna's forehead crinkled. "Your best friend?" she questioned. "Are we talking about the same Hyde here? The one who yells at you every day for spending too much time in the bathroom, and shuts the record player off every time you dare play your music?"

Jackie's heart fluttered at the thought of Hyde and she pulled their daughter closer to her chest. Yes, Hyde was still an asshole a lot of the time but that's what she liked about him so much. He didn't roll over and take her crap like Kelso did. He challenged her. And god she loved a challenge.

She looked at Donna. "Yes, that Hyde," she said. "The one that does all that stuff but who also bathes his daughter, and changes her, and listens to me moan about my sore, leaky boobs and then goes and gets me boob pads, and then-"

"Okay, enough with the boobs," Donna cut in, holding up a silencing hand. "I get it, Hyde's a great dad."

"And great with boobs," Pauline added, winking at Jackie.

"But you guys said you were just friends?" Donna continued. "We've all asked you over n over again if anything was going on and you both said no, and now you're telling me you're together n you're sacrificing prom for him?"

Jackie shook her head. "I never said that we were together. I said he's my best friend and I want to go to prom with him but he doesn't wanna go."

"But you like him? As in like him like him?" Donna asked.

Pauline grinned like the cat that got the cream, clearly proud that she knew more about Hyde and Jackie than Donna did. "Well she kisses him n stuff," she let out, causing Donna's eyes to widen.

"Since when?!" the redhead demanded to know.

"God, Donna!" Jackie said, raising her voice as much as she could without waking her baby. "I've been kissing Steven for ages, you guys were just too stupid to notice. Or maybe you just didn't want to see what was in front of you." Jackie did believe her friends were stupid, but she also knew Donna, Eric, Fez, and Kelso didn't approve of her and Hyde and wouldn't want them together. It was weird for them, especially at the beginning when the whole summer tryst came out. And despite everyone loving Tyler, no one had even entertained the idea of a Jackie/Hyde relationship. Except Jackie and Hyde.

Donna furrowed her brow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I don't think any of you ever wanted me and Steven together."

"Well, duh, Jackie," Donna said, rolling her eyes. "You can't deny that you two sneaking 'round last year caused a tonne of problems for everyone. And you guys were, like, major enemies for years. So no, I guess i didn't want you and Hyde to get togeth-"

Pauline gasped. "But they have a baby! How could you _not_ want them to be a family?"

Jackie's eyes fell on Donna awaiting her response.

"You didn't let me finish." Donna sat back in the plastic lawn chair and continued talking to Jackie. "You and Hyde were a totally creepy and unnatural couple and two people that I absolutely never saw together, but now, I dunno...I guess it makes sense...in a weird kinda way."

"And what exactly do you mean by weird?" Jackie asked haughtily.

Donna raised a shoulder before dropping it. "It's like what i said before - you n Hyde argue. A lot. You're opposites."

"And you and Eric are the perfect couple I suppose?" Jackie sneered, thinking back to all the break ups and make ups the engaged couple had been through over the years. It was infuriating the way Donna made out she and Eric were so perfect, when in fact they were far from it. Donna was in no position to judge, but Jackie knew she would anyway.

Donna cocked an eyebrow. "Well I wasn't dating his best friend when we hooked up," she said defensively.

Jackie groaned. "Oh my god, Donna. Me and Michael were over before I got with Steven," she explained for what felt like the seven hundredth time. "He left me remember? When you got in a van with him and fled to California. Anyway, why are we still talking about this? It doesn't matter how Steven and I got together, what matters now is that we have a child and I want to be with him...properly be with him."

She'd said it. Out loud. Jackie had said the words that for the last few months had scared her to bits. She wanted a relationship with Hyde. To be his girlfriend. What had changed in her life to get her to this point? Not much, except Tyler of course. Her dad was still in jail. Her mom still flitting around South America. Jackie's chaotic life was still a mess but what had changed was that the chaos was now normal; thanks in large part to Hyde who'd been her anchor through all the storms. He was her safety, he was her constant, and she wanted him to be her boyfriend.

Whether Donna liked it or not.

To Jackie's surprise when she looked over at Donna she only saw a goofy grin on her friend's face. And on the other side of the spool table Pauline was sitting again with her hand over her heart. _Crap!_ Jackie was too tired for mushy talk...even if it was slightly better than prom talk.

"You really, really like him, don't you, Jackie?" Donna asked, still sporting her stupid grin.

Jackie sighed. "Yes, Donna. I really, really like him. Now can you please stop looking at me like that? You're scaring the baby."

"Which baby?" Donna laughed. "The one that's asleep in your arms?" She did a little dance in her seat and smiled a big toothy smile. "Me thinks you're feeling a little embarrassed because you just admitted you love an orphan boy..."

"Oh, shut up, Donna!" Jackie turned her attention to the blank televison screen. She could feel her cheeks flush and she nervously licked her lips. Donna was right, Jackie did love an orphan boy. It wasn't the fairytale she'd imagined and she wasn't quite sure when it had happened, but she'd gone and fallen head over heels in love with a poor orphan boy. And she couldn't be happier.

"Oh, I think it's just so romantic," Pauline chirped, grinning at Jackie. "You're gorgeous, Hyde's hot, you made the cutest baby ever, and Kat is gonna be spitting more tacks than she already is about you two. I love it!"

Jackie couldn't argue with Pauline; the cheerleader spoke only truths. But there was still the small matter of Hyde _not knowing_ she was in love with him.

Donna nodded. "I think a lot of people are gonna be spitting tacks when they find out Hyde n Jackie are together," she said.

"Gosh, you two!" Jackie growled. "Like I said before, we're not actually together yet! We haven't talked about any of that stuff for ages so I don't want you guys going around flapping your great big gobs before I talk to him, okay? Who knows, he might not even like me like that anymore. He's seen me give birth remember? God, he probably thinks I'm disgusting now."

Jackie's elation evaporated when she remembered all the gross stuff that had come out of her in the last month. Hyde had witnessed her waters breaking, a baby coming out of her, post-partum bleeding, leaking breasts...all of it. He'd seen it all. Did he still view her as the same Jackie she used to be? Or was she a ruined ex-cheerleader that was only good for feeding his baby? He hadn't made a move on her since she'd given birth; the once hot make-out sessions had become quick kisses before bed, and steamy embraces had turned into comforting hugs, soothing Jackie when cracked nipples reduced her to tears. Everything had changed. Had Hyde's feelings changed as well?

"Well I guess you won't know what he thinks until you talk to him." Donna's words echoed Jackie's thoughts and she bit down hard on her lip.

Finally, she said, "And we both know how much Steven Hyde loves talking about feelings..."


	27. Chapter 27

_Later That Night_

Jackie yawned and stretched out on Hyde's small cot. It was nearly midnight and midnight in the Forman residence meant curfew, something Jackie hoped Hyde would respect. She didn't need him being grounded right now. She didn't want to spend her days watching him do endless chores. She wanted him home on time ready to listen to her pour her heart out to him.

Thumbing the worn spine of Hyde's well read copy of 'Nineteen Eighty-Four', Jackie anxiously waited. Donna and Pauline had left over an hour earlier, both demanding an early morning phone call from the brunette loaded with juicy details. Jackie had agreed to call her friends but had also reminded them that there may not be any details to spill- this _was_ Hyde after all - the king of non-communication and vague answers dressed up as Zen. A few months ago Jackie had been fairly sure of his feelings for her but years with Kelso had taught her that teenage boys' feelings were fickle, susceptible to change when a new skirt blew through the door at the Hub. Who knew whether some 'cool' biker chick had roared into town and caught Hyde's eye without Jackie noticing?

Jackie returned Hyde's book to the shelf and checked the time again. Three minutes had passed since she'd last checked. Hyde and Eric had three minutes to get home before Red's foot would be finding a home in their asses. As she stood up off the cot Jackie's stomach flipped.

 _Stupid boys! s_ he thought, making her way into the main room of the basement. She had been nervous for hours about talking to Hyde and now his lateness was making her even more nervous. Red was going to kill him. And that would really piss Jackie off.

Approaching footsteps thumped down the outside stairs clambering to a halt at the bottom step. Jackie dashed to the door and opened it, her hopes of an honest discussion with Hyde dashed when she saw his arms slung over Kelso and Eric's shoulders. His head hung low and his shirt bore the evidence of his inability to hold a drink in his hand and get it into his mouth.

Ushering them quickly into the basement, Jackie's ire was firmly directed at Eric. "What the hell have you done to him?" she asked.

"Um, I poured 14 beers and 8 shots down his throat, Jackie," Eric answered as he and Kelso dragged Hyde into his bedroom. "Oh, and forced him to smoke nearly a whole baggie on his own."

The boys dropped their inebriated friend on his cot and Kelso shook his head. "Yeah, man, I'm still pissed about his lone circles," he moaned, looking down at Hyde. "He could'a shared. I wanna be on his level."

"His level?" Jackie scowled. "His level is comatose you moron. If he doesn't die by choking on his own vomit Red is gonna kill him for sure for this. Why would you let him get so drunk?"

"Duh, Jackie," Kelso answered, rolling his eyes as though it was obvious, "we wanted to get him into a dress. That's all Fez wanted for his birthday."

Hyde shuffled on the cot causing his friends to quickly turn to him. "But you fools still couldn't do it," he drunkenly murmured. "Coz you're all idiots."

"Oh, Steven!" Jackie perched herself on the edge of the cot and ran her hand over his clammy forehead. "What did they do to you?"

"What did _we_ do to _him?_ " Eric cut in, folding his arms across his chest. "Let me remind you, Jackie. Hyde's a big boy and can take care of himself...or _should_ be able to take care of himself. You can't blame us because he can't handle his liquor."

Jackie's eyes darted in Eric's direction and narrowed. "And let me remind you, Eric...Steven is a new father who goes to work and school and barely gets any sleep. God, he probably didn't even have time to have a proper dinner before he went out tonight. Steven's a real man who doesn't need to wait for his girlfriend's father to go out of town so he can play house with her - he's already taking care of a real family, so excuse him if he goes a little crazy on his first night out in ages and drinks a little too much!"

Kelso's eyebrow rose questioningly. "A _little_ too much?" he asked. "I'd say he drank a _whole lot_ too much!"

"Oh, shut up, Michael! No one cares what you have to say." Jackie picked up Steven's hand and looked at his face for more signs of consciousness. Her anger at having to postpone their talk had been quelled by a deep need to know he was okay and even the overwhelming stench of beer couldn't drive her away from taking care of him.

Eric stepped closer to the cot and he rubbed his bloodshot eyes. "Look, Jackie. We honestly didn't do this to Hyde on purpose-"

"Speak for yourself!" Kelso chimed in before Eric shot him a dirty look.

"-anyway, as I was saying," Eric continued, "we were just chilling out like we always do and I guess we all - and by all I mean Hyde - drank a bit too much. I didn't want to bring him home like this but I figured it was better than being late for curfew."

Curfew! So consumed with worry about her baby daddy dying of alcohol poisoning, Jackie had forgotten about curfew...and Red. Rising quickly, she pushed Eric and Kelso out of the bedroom.

"Oh my god, Eric," she said, still pushing him toward the stairs. "You have to get up there before Red comes down here looking for you morons. If he sees Steven like this he'll kill him and I'm not ready to be a single mom yet."

"But what about Hyde?" Eric asked. "I should get him water or a bucket or something..."

"Don't worry about Steven," Jackie whispered, gesturing for Eric to walk up the stairs. "Leave him to me."

...

 _Six Hours Later_

Through heavy eyelids Jackie looked down at the baby nestled in her arms. Tyler was suckling her breast contentedly, only pausing every few moments to catch her breath. The little one's enthusiasm for the drink reminded Jackie of someone, and she smiled.

"You are so much like your daddy, Tyler," she whispered, mindful of the other four people in the house lucky enough to be asleep. "But let's hope you get my fashion sense. No daughter of mine will be caught dead wearing ratty old t-shirts and jeans. You got that?"

Upon hearing her mother's words Tyler stopped feeding and stared up at Jackie. When the corners of her mouth turned upwards into a smile Jackie squealed. She'd been waiting for this moment for weeks. Her baby's first smile!

"Oh my god! You're finally smiling," Jackie exclaimed, tucking her hands under Tyler's arms and lifting her up in front of her. The baby's smile fell, but soon reappeared at the sight of her mother's own smile. "You're smiling the one time I don't have a damn camera handy! That is so typical. God, you are sooooo like your father!"

Despite being exhausted, Jackie scooped Tyler into her arms and searched the basement for the new, black camera she'd begged Hyde to buy a few weeks ago. Since acquiring it, it'd never been far from Jackie's side, much to Hyde's chargrin. He hated the thing. Or rather, he hated that every time he tried to steal a few moments with his daughter it was usually pointed in his direction. 'Photos are lame', he'd claimed on more than one occasion, but Jackie didn't care. She was capturing every moment of her child's life. Especially the milestones. And especially the smiles. Because she for one knew that good times could be all too fleeting.

Unable to find the camera in the mess that was the basement, Jackie headed to Hyde's room. "I bet he's hidden it in there, the happiness killer," she whispered to Tyler. When she opened the door the smell of fermented hops hit her nostrils and she paused for a moment to listen. When a loud snore filled the room, Jackie relaxed. He was still alive. He still stunk of alcohol, and snored like a sailor - like he had every other time she'd checked on him through the night - but at least he was alive.

"God, I hope you don't inherit your dad's love of booze," Jackie said to Tyler as she stepped into the small room and pulled on the light cord. "Although with my parent's genes mixed up with Edna and Bud's, you don't stand much of a chance. We might have to book you into AA before you even start school." As Jackie talked to her baby about addiction and genetics the little girl smiled again. Jackie's eyes widened and she moved quickly to Hyde's dresser. "I have to find that camera before you start crying or sleeping!"

Holding Tyler in one arm, Jackie skillfully rummaged through Hyde's top drawer. All she found though was a bunch of tossed up tees. She should've known - the top drawer was no place to hide anything - it was always the first place someone would look. Using that theory, Jackie skipped the second drawer and went straight to the third; the winter jumper drawer. She pushed aside a couple of woolen knits and dug deeper down toward the bottom. As her hand brushed over the 'Steven' jumper Kitty had knitted Hyde for his 18th birthday, Jackie felt something different. Something that wasn't wool. Something that felt like an envelope. Unable to quell her curiosity, she slowly pulled the envelope out from it's hiding place, checking over her shoulder to make sure Hyde was still asleep as she did so. He was lying on his stomach, his face squashed into the pillow, his arm dangling over the side of the cot. Jackie rolled her eyes at the state of him. She'd be lucky to see him conscious at all that day, let alone have any kind of deep and meaningful with him.

With the mystery envelope retrieved, Jackie took a seat on the armchair in the corner of the room and turned it over. Her brow furrowed when she read the sender details.

"Madison University?" she mumbled to herself before looking down at Tyler. "Why the hell is Madison University writing to your daddy, Tyler? He better not have signed up for some crazy experimental research. You don't need a father who's half blind and mostly deaf!"

With her interest well and truly piqued, Jackie flipped the envelope and pulled out the letter, fully expecting to read that Hyde had signed up for some 'tobacco and it's links to cancer' research. Lately she'd heard loads of burnouts in the Hub talk about how they were getting paid what they thought was good money to sit around smoking up all day and it would not have surprised her in the least if Hyde had figured it was an easy way to make some cash. Lucky for him and his health he had a certain petite brunette to put a stop to it. What burnouts thought was good money, really wasn't good money, and Jackie wasn't risking Hyde's health for peanuts.

But the letter in Jackie's hand wasn't an invitation to cancer. In fact, the words she read were just about the last words she ever expected to read, and as she read them she was sure she could hear the sound of her own heart beating...or maybe breaking? Through the tears in her eyes and her shaking hand, Jackie couldn't tell just what her heart was doing. All she knew was that her worst fear was coming true.

Hyde was leaving them.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Well it's been a while, and for that I sincerely apologise. I have had computer problem after computer problem which has made writing and reading super difficult. Hopefully things are sorted soon but I thought posting this (half of a) chapter while I had the chance was a good way to let you know I haven't abandoned the story and will be back! Cheers!_**


	28. Chapter 28

_Two Days Later..._

Hyde tossed a warm tortilla onto his plate and stared across the table at Jackie. He watched as she dolloped spoonfuls of salsa onto her own tortilla, never once lifting her eyes to meet his. When she reached for the grated cheese Hyde made his move, quickly pulling the bowl closer to his side of the table. Jackie mumbled something under her breath and narrowed her eyes at Hyde but he didn't care. At least he'd garnered a reaction out of the small brunette, something he hadn't been able to do for the last couple of days.

He smiled at her. "Oh, did you want the cheese?"

"You knew I wanted the cheese," Jackie said, drumming her fingers on the polished mahogany table. "My hand was in the bowl before you rudely snatched it away from me. God, Steven, if you continue to act like such a Neanderthal you won't be welcome here for dinner again."

"The thing is, Jackie," Hyde started, sprinkling a good amount of cheese over his tortilla as he spoke, "I don't feel that welcome here right now. You haven't spoken to me since I got here. Actually, you haven't spoken to me since Friday. Is this about the damn prom thing again? Because I thought we'd sorted all of that. I thought you were cool with not going?"

Having spent the best part of his young life mostly avoiding having a girlfriend, Hyde had never claimed to be an expert on women's not-so-subtle hints; but he also wasn't a blind moron. He'd seen the dress Jackie's mom had sent her to wear to prom hanging in the bathroom upstairs, and despite suffering a hangover from hell for better part of two days he'd also noticed Jackie's nasty looks and lack of verbal communication. She was pissed he wouldn't take her to prom, and he was pissed she was still banging on about it. So he held tight to the cheese bowl until Jackie finally sighed.

"Fine," she breathed out, snatching the bowl from him. "I'm annoyed at you right now, hence me saying last night 'you're pissing me off, Steven, so don't come over after work tomorrow'. I should've known that you'd do the exact opposite of what I'd ordered. It's like you were placed on this earth solely to torture me."

Hyde raised an eyebrow. "Jackie, you know I come to see Tyler every night and I'm not gonna stop that just because you're pissed about some stupid dance. So you can hurl insults at me or ignore me all you want, 'cause I'm not gonna stay away from her 'cause you're tantruming. We're not going to prom and that's final."

Across the table Jackie's lips curled into an evil smile. It was a smile Hyde recognised. One usually reserved for Laurie or Kelso, or any other poor sod who'd really pissed the little cheerleader off. But tonight for some reason that smile caused Hyde's breath to hitch. Why was she looking at him that way? Surely this couldn't be over the prom? God, Hyde was beginning to hate the prom more with every second.

"Oh, _we_ may not be going to prom," Jackie said gesturing between herself and Hyde. "But _I_ am."

Hyde laughed. "Yeah right. You said yourself that ridin' solo would be social suicide. You wouldn't dare front on your own."

"I'm not going on my own," she quickly repiled. "I have a date."

"Who?" Hyde asked the question way too quickly but he couldn't stop himself. His heart was racing, filling his veins with the adrenaline he needed to pummel whoever it was that dared take the mother of his child to prom. Sure, he and Jackie weren't officially a couple but everybody in Point Place knew they had a 'thing' and everybody should've known not to mess with that 'thing'. Whoever the moron was that had chosen to cross Hyde had to have a some kind of death wish.

"Michael," Jackie said nonchalantly. "Michael asked me to prom a while back and I finally said yes."

Hyde felt the blood drain from his face as his worst fear was confirmed and he swallowed hard before composing himself enough to speak. "Of course you did," he said, the memory of sitting in the school cafeteria while Kelso penned a poem thundering around his head. How did he not see it then? How had he missed Kelso's plotting? It had to be the baby and the lack of sleep that had thrown Hyde off Kelso watch. Somewhere in between work, school, and Tyler, the tall prick had swooped in and stolen Jackie right from under him - or rather - next to him. The bastard. "So, let me guess, he asked you to go with him in a poem?"

Jackie stopped folding her tortilla and looked up at him, her eyebrows knitted together. "Yes," she answered quickly. "How did you know?"

"Just a lucky guess." Hyde shrugged and looked down at his colourful but suddenly unappetizing dinner. "Oh well, s'pose it was only a matter of time..." he mumbled at his plate.

"What was only a matter of time?"

"You and Kelso gettin' cozy again." He looked up at her, deciding to ditch the Zen facade and show her just how pissed he was. She was making him look stupid, just like his own mother had done a few years back when she'd ditched him for a new life in a truck cab. "Guess I should thank you both for having the decency to wait until my kid was baked n out before resuming your fucked up relationship. It would've made me sick if any part of that moron had been anywhere near Tyler."

Jackie's eyes widened in horror and her mouth fell open. "Ew, Steven! Are you implying that I'm sleeping with Michael Kelso?"

"You say it like it's something you'd never do." Hyde folded his arms across his chest as he stared Jackie right in the eye. "But we both you know you have, and probably will again."

"Excuse me, but going to prom with someone doesn't mean you're sleeping with them!"

Hyde shrugged. "Tell that to the all the motel owners with 'no vacancy' signs up on prom night."

With that, Jackie abruptly stood up and threw her napkin onto her untouched dinner plate. Her eyes were fiery and her cheeks crimsoned. Yeah, she was feeling guilty alright and Hyde was just fine with that.

"Look, Steven, I'll have you know right now that I'm _not_ having sex with Michael. Nor do I intend on having sex with him in the future. He is merely a friend who kindly asked me to go to a dance with him...a dance that I really, really want to go to, and one - let me remind you - that you refused to take me to. And I'm sorry that in your twisted little mind Michael and I going together means we're having sex, but quite frankly, Steven, even if we were, that'd be none of your business!"

She let out an exasperated breath before falling back onto her chair and shaking her head.

Hyde's head on the other hand, was reeling. What the hell did she mean 'none of his business'? Her business had been his business since the day she'd floated into the Formans' kitchen and dragged him out to tell him she was knocked up. Her dating was definitely his business. He'd had enough 'visiting uncles' trapesing through his childhood home to know that it wasn't cool and wasn't something he wanted for Tyler. Especially when one of those uncles could be a man who glued himself to fridges.

"None of my business?" he asked incredulously. "Are you for real, Jackie? You dating Kelso is absolutely my business. You have my daughter living with you in the same house Kelso once set alight. I don't wanna be coming over one night to see the whole house up in flames with my baby trapped inside."

Jackie rolled her eyes. "God, I said we weren't dating."

"You said you weren't screwing - which, by the way, I don't believe - but technically you are dating because you're going on a date with him to prom."

"Oh, so going to prom with someone implies you're dating them?" Jackie questioned. "You do remember you once took me to prom right, Steven? Gosh, if I'd known we were dating then I would've made you spring for dinner beforehand."

Hyde's lips grew tight at the memory. "And let me guess, after that dinner and prom, you would've had Kelso spring for breakfast after fucking him all night?"

Before Jackie could make her rebuttal Rosa breezed into the room carrying a freshly changed baby girl in her arms. The older lady frowned as she neared the table and she 'tut-tuttered' loud enough to warrant a ceasefire. Hyde exhaled slowly as his focus shifted to Rosa and the baby.

"Finally awake is she?" he stated more than asked, holding his hands out to take Tyler.

But by the way Jackie darted out of her chair swiftly cutting off Rosa's path, it was obvious the brunette wasn't going to let their argument die.

"Oh no you don't," she said to her maid/surrogate mother. "He doesn't get her. Not after just calling me a whore."

Rosa gasped and Hyde rolled his eyes. Now he was in for it. Not only would he have Jackie to deal with, but also an over-protective Mexican.

"Calm down," he quickly said before Rosa could fire up. "I didn't call her a whore. I just said she wasn't adverse to sleeping with Kelso again. Which I guess to some people might be equivalent to whorey behaviour... .but not to me, because I'd never call my kid's mom a whore."

Jackie glared at him, her chest rising in anger. "No, you'd just imply it, right?"

A part of Hyde wanted to shoot Jackie a knowing grin and shrug and start a Jackie/Hyde war unseen for the better part of two years. But another part of Hyde, the part that just wanted to hold his daughter and watch The Love Boat, took over and instead he sighed in defeat. If he wanted to see Tyler he had to get on with Jackie. No matter who she chose to date and how much it sickened him to the core.

"Jackie, you're not a whore. Never have been, never will be."

Rosa shook her head and glared down at Hyde. "That's right. Miss Jackie is not a whore. She is an unwed mama, yes. But -" she pointed her finger at Hyde, "- that is your fault, mister. She is mother of your child and you must respect her, or I'll..I'll...cut off-"

Hyde dreaded to think what appendage Rosa would cut off so he quickly interjected. "No need to cut anything off, Rosa. I respect Jackie-"

"Yeah right," Jackie huffed, jiggling Tyler in her arms.

Hyde raised an eyebrow before adding, "- most of the time..."

...

 _An Hour Later_

Hyde sat on Jack Burkhart's leather recliner slowly rocking Tyler in his arms. It'd taken a good twenty minutes to pry her away from Jackie but it'd been worth it. After all, the little bundle was the reason he was here and he wasn't about to leave without holding her. No matter how many times Jackie had tried to evict him.

Jackie.

Hyde chanced a glance in her direction. God she was infuriating. How the hell had they gone from practically being in a relationship together to her going with Kelso to prom? It didn't make any sense. Sure she was hormonal and tired but that was no excuse for doing a full 180 on him. None of the pregnancy books had warned him about this kind of crap. He looked at her again. She had her legs tucked up under her on the couch and was furiously biting her fingernails while she watched the TV. For someone who was getting her wish and going to prom she didn't look so happy. So Hyde decided to call her on it.

"Jackie, what's this all about?" he gently asked.

She looked at him. "What's what about?"

"What's going on, man?" Hyde sighed. "We were good last Friday, remember? You said you weren't fussed about prom, I bought you a burger, you told me what to wear to Fez's birthday...you said you had a good day. Then I wake up Saturday with a pounding headache and you not speaking to me. And now this crap. What the hell happened?"

"As usual, Steven, you happened," Jackie said, her eyes returning to the TV.

Hyde shook his head and pulled Tyler higher up on his chest. His movement roused the sleeping baby a little so he kissed her head and softly stroked her back. He loved the little girl more than life but having to deal with her mother right now had him itching to bolt. Was this what it'd been like for Bud? Had Edna played mind games that had left Bud with no other choice but to leave her and his only son behind? Hyde figured yes to all of it and while part of him had a new understanding of his father's plight he still swore he wouldn't do it to Tyler. She meant way too much to him.

"What have I supposedly done, Jackie? And can you please say it in English 'cause I'm way over trying to crack your codes."

Jackie arched an eyebrow. "It isn't what you've done. It's what you're planning to do. Behind my back I must add."

Now Hyde was truly puzzled. "Planning to do? Now what, pray tell, am I planning, Jackie?"

"Why don't you tell me?"

"No, you tell me, because you're the know-it-all who thinks she knows it all, therefore it's your job to enlighten me - the guy who knows nothing about anything."

Jackie glared at him and crossed her arms across her chest. "I found it, Steven," she finally said. "In your drawer."

Hyde felt his forehead crease. She'd found what in his drawer? His stash? An old girly mag he'd forgotten about? As far as he knew there was nothing even remotely incriminating in his drawers.

"You found what?"

"The letter. The one from Madison University..."

Hyde heard Jackie's voice hitch at the end of her sentence and for a second he felt bad for her. The poor girl must've thought he was up and out of here, leaving her to raise their daughter while he led the college life. But before he could explain himself he remembered their fight an hour ago and anger replaced pity. Damn her for jumping to conclusions.

"Oh, the acceptance letter," he said calmly. "Can you believe it? MU want me! Who would've thought, huh?"

"Well not me," Jackie replied, before quickly adding, "I mean, I knew you had potential, but didn't you get like a 950 in the SATs? Hardly scholarship material."

Hyde chuckled. "Oh yeah, the 950 - that was what I got the first time I took the SAT's. Second time I got a 1250."

Jackie shot off the couch, her eyes wide in disbelief. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "The second time? You took the SATs again? Why?"

"I wanted to do better." Hyde shrugged. "Had a talk to Mr. Morrison after the first scores came back and he agreed that if I applied myself I had a shot of getting into college n maybe even getting some grants. So I did them again. And did better."

Jackie nodded. "A whole lot better!" she agreed. Her head tilted to the side. "But why didn't you tell me you were doing it? I could've helped-"

Hyde raised his eyebrows. Jackie shrugged.

"Okay, maybe not helped with the actual study but I could've brought you food and cheered you on. You know how good I am at that," she grinned.

"Look, I just didn't want anyone to know, okay? Not you, not Forman, no one. I was doing it for me -" he looked down at Tyler and kissed her head again, "- and her and I don't even know where I'm going with it all. It was just info that didn't need to be shared."

"But, Steven," Jackie beamed, "This proves that you're the smartest in the group...even smarter than Donna. I always knew you were but now we have the piece of paper to prove it! Oh we have to tell everyone!"

Hyde watched in amusement as Jackie bounced up and down. She was ecstatic that her baby's daddy was 'the smart one'. He laughed. Pity she didn't know that before she'd traded him in for an idiot.

"Oh you can tell them all at the prom," he sniped. "Preferably after Kelso has set fire to something."

Jackie quickly stopped bouncing and the smile faded from her face. "God, I'd forgotten about that."

"I'm sure he hasn't.."

"Look, Steven." Jackie sat down on the edge of the couch. Her expression now void of excitement. "How was I supposed to feel when I saw that acceptance letter? You'd never once mentioned wanting to go to college. I thought you were happy working here, with us. I saw the letter and I freaked. In my mind you were skipping out on me and the baby. I was hurt, Steven. I still am."

"So you ran to Kelso, without even bothering to talk to me about it." He rubbed his hand over his forehead. "Jackie, I don't know what I wanna do about the whole college thing which is why I never brought it up. I figured there was no point worrying you about something that may not even happen when you had your hands full with Tyler. But you had to go snooping and jump to conclusions."

"But I thought you were going to leave us..."

Hyde shook his head and sighed. "I would never have just left and I can't believe you actually thought I would. Whatever decisions I make now, and in the future, I make with Tyler in mind, so what on earth possessed you to think I wouldn't consider you, Jackie? I thought you knew me better than that."

Jackie's big eyes stared down at the shag carpet as she chewed on her bottom lip. She was embarrassed, just as she should be.

"Steven, you should've talked to me," she said, still avoiding looking at him. "You should've told me about resitting the SATs and possibly going to college. This is kinda your fault."

That was it. Hyde had held Tyler for long enough and his visit had to end. He wouldn't stick around for any more of Jackie's childish crap. He was done with her games. Done with her never taking responsibility for the part she played in their disputes. So he stood up, mindful not to wake his baby, and carried her to Jackie.

"What are you doing?" Jackie asked as he placed Tyler in her arms. "Are you leaving?"

"Yes, Jackie, I'm leaving," he answered, picking up his denim jacket from the chair. "If you're lonely, or upset, or a bit confused, just call Kelso. I'm sure he'll be around in a flash."

"Steven, that's not fair..."

Hyde walked to the front door, Jackie scurrying behind him. He turned around. "What's not fair is you always using your ex to piss me off," he told her. "I told you just before Christmas, when you wanted to hook up, that I wasn't gonna get involved with you and always play second fiddle to him. Man, we're not even in a relationship and the guy's fucking with my head. I'm over it, Jackie. If you can't grow up and talk to me about stuff before calling him, then I'm done with whatever it is you and I had going on."

He opened the door and Jackie put her hand up to close it. "But, Steven, I can tell him no to prom," she pleaded, her eyes already welling up.

Hyde gave her and Tyler one last glance over before saying, "I'm done, Jackie."

As he made his way to his car Hyde ignored Jackie's pleas to stay and talk with her. He was over it. Over it all.

Kelso could have her.


	29. Chapter 29

_Three Days Later_

 _Thursday Night_

Hyde was lying on Eric's single bed playing with Tyler's feet. The little girl was laying next to her father making all sorts of new and adorable 'cooing' noises, and despite being in a bad mood Hyde couldn't help but smile.

"You are too damn cute, Tyler Rose," he told her. He straightened out the pink fleecy blanket underneath and continued smiling. "No matter how much of a grump your old man is in you always manage to cheer him up."

The baby 'cooed' again, only longer and using a higher pitch than she had before. Her bright blue eyes stared straight into her dad's, melting his heart - yet again - in the process.

They'd been holed up in the room together since Hyde had arrived home from work. Just like the night before, Hyde had walked in, scooped Tyler up, and found somewhere Jackie-free to retreat to. Having the cheerleader staying at the Formans' Wednesday to Sunday made things easier for him baby access wise, but as he wasn't talking to her at the moment her presence in his home was rather annoying. It was hard avoiding someone who was always in your face. Which was why tonight Hyde was hiding out in Eric's room; the one room Jackie never flounced into.

He watched in adoration as Tyler grabbed onto her feet and rolled to her side.

"Woah! Look at you go!" he exclaimed. "Have you done that trick for your ma yet?"

Nudging Tyler over onto her back Hyde almost wished Jackie was there with them. It had been cool having someone to share these moments with. Someone who loved Tyler as much as he did. It was also handy that Jackie always had a camera nearby ensuring Tyler would always have a trillion memories to look back on.

But Jackie wasn't there and even though it sucked, Hyde had to remind himself it was all her doing. She'd brought it all upon herself and Hyde didn't have the time nor the energy to keep playing her games. So from now on it was just him and Tyler.

And he was fine with it.

The bedroom door opened and Hyde looked up half hoping to see Jackie, but instead of the blubbering brunette he found Eric.

"What's up, Forman?"

The skinny boy closed the door and ran his hands through his sandy mop of hair. "Everything!" Eric said, clearly frustrated. "Red's making my life freaking miserable. He's blocked every job I've gone for and now I don't have the money to take Donna to the Vineyard on prom night. God, she's gonna be so pissed, man."

"That's what ya get for getting engaged." Hyde shrugged. Tyler's little hand curled around his finger and he smiled down at her. "Your Uncle Eric is a real moron, Tyler," he told her. "If an 18 year old who'd barely passed his SATs and had no job was trying to marry you I'd kick his ass."

"And if I was Jackie's dad I would've kicked yours." Eric told Hyde before he tucked his hands under Tyler's arms and picked her up, cradling her into his chest.

Hyde shrugged again. "Can't say I disagree with you on that one."

Eric sighed and began pacing the room, Tyler nestled in his arms. "Man, Hyde. What am I gonna do? I have no money and prom's next weekend."

"Sell your dolls," Hyde suggested.

"I may be desperate, but not that desperate."

"Car?"

"Not happening."

"Well then, I guess I got a couple'a bucks. Borrow the cash from me."

As much as the whole prom thing sickened Hyde, he hated seeing his best friend so bummed out. Eric had always looked out for him and even though what Hyde was offering wasn't anything compared to Eric giving him a roof over his head, it was something. Plus it'd put a stop to any future bitching or whining by way of Donna. Hyde was already avoiding Jackie, he couldn't be assed avoiding a sad Donna too.

Eric looked down at Hyde. "I can't borrow money from you, Hyde. But thanks."

"Take the money, man. Do you really want Donna bitching n moaning about how crappy her last high school prom was for the rest of your life? And remember - you're marrying the girl so it would _literally_ be for the _rest_ of your life. I can spring you the cash for dinner at the Vineyard. Just don't go booking any motel rooms. You two will have to settle for doin' it in the back of the Cruiser after prom."

"You sure? Like really sure?" Eric stopped pacing. "I don't wanna take money off you. You have a kid n stuff...that's like way more important than prom."

"Huh, tell that to her mom," Hyde said nodding toward Tyler who was now nearly asleep in Eric's arms. "Bro, take the money. With all the work I've been doing and all the money I've been saving by not buying film I've got enough stashed away. Besides, I owe you."

Eric smiled a smile that was a mix of relief and gratitude. The guy sure liked to please his girl. "You don't owe me anything, Hyde. But if you're sure, like 100% sure, then I promise I'll pay you back as soon as my dad's done blackballing me around town."

"So when you're 50 then?" Hyde grinned.

Eric rolled his eyes. "Probably."

Hyde stretched out on Eric's bed and pulled a pillow down to rest under his head. He hadn't seen much of Forman lately. Actually, he hadn't seen much of anyone. If he wasn't at school then he was at work or spending time with Tyler. Eric, on the other hand, was busy with school, Donna, and daily screaming matches with Red. Because of this, Hyde didn't know what anyone knew about him, Jackie, and the prom fiasco and a part of him wanted his best friend's thoughts on the matter.

"So the Vineyard, huh?" he gently probed. "Is that a private date or are there a few of you going?"

Eric jiggled Tyler. "Oh it's just me, Donna, Fez, Kelso, Jack-" He stopped talking and jiggling and looked over at Hyde nervously.

"It's okay, Eric, I know Jackie's going to prom with Kelso."

"Well, yeah, I knew you knew...what with all the tension round here at the moment. Just wasn't sure what you thought about it all."

"Oh, so the tension wasn't a clue?" Hyde grinned.

Eric briefly raised a shoulder. "Hyde, this is you n Jackie we're talking about here. You two could've been arguing about Kelso, the prom, the college stuff Donna was telling me about, or it could've been because the sun didn't shine it's rays brightly enough on Jackie's highlights, or because she couldn't find her cream wedges that match her teal skirt so perfectly..." He sighed and shook his head. "She's the devil, man. There's no end to what she'll argue about."

"Well the wedges and the sun thing were what we were arguing about last week," Hyde said, propping his head up on his hand. "Everything else is what we're fighting about now. And believe me, we won't be settling this one in a hurry."

"I'm not surprised." Eric sat down at the foot of his bed. "Hey, for the record, I did tell Kelso taking Jackie to prom was a bad idea. I mean, I know you and her weren't technically a couple but you did sorta seem like one. It just seemed wrong y'know? Him and her going together..."

"We also told Kelso car skiing was a bad idea and he didn't listen then either, so I'm not surprised he still went ahead and asked her. The guy has no brain cells whatsoever. Jackie, on the other hand, is another matter. I really thought she'd have more sense."

Eric nodded. "Yeah, but by the sound of it she only said yes to get back at you for ditching her to go to college-"

"Which I was never doing," Hyde cut in. "She jumped to conclusions without even talking to me about it."

"And now you're pissed with her."

Hyde nodded. "And now I'm pissed with her."

"Because you like her."

Eric stared at Hyde waiting for a response but it took Hyde a while to formulate one. Did he really want to admit to Eric that he did, in fact, like Jackie? Or was it better everyone just assuming they were friends who fooled around a little? Did they even assume that? His friends were dumb but probably not that dumb.

Hyde sighed. "Yeah, Forman. I did like her," he admitted. Eric's lack of surprise told Hyde everyone had already been aware of that information anyway. They'd probably been aware of it before Hyde had been. "I liked her until she used her ex to get back at me. She's like a little kid, man, playing tit for tat. It's ridiculous."

"And ignoring her isn't?"

"At least when I'm ignoring her I don't have to deal with her. Kelso can fucking have her."

...

 _Meanwhile, in the kitchen_

"Do you want me to go get Hyde?" Donna pulled another Kleenex from the box on the table and passed it to Jackie who took it and blew her nose.

She shook her head. "No, don't get him. I don't want him to know."

"Oh, honey, I think he'll find out when you're still here on Monday," Kitty said as she placed a hot chocolate down in front of the crying brunette.

"Mrs. Forman, I appreciate the offer, but I can't still be here on Monday. I'll figure something out."

Donna's green eyes turned all puppy dog like and she put her hand over Jackie's. "Like what, midget? It's not just you anymore, you have Tyler to worry about too, remember?"

Yes, Jackie did remember.

She sipped her warm drink and wished it would wash away her troubles the way it used to do when she was a child. Back then those troubles would be trivial things like boys pulling her ponytails or the teacher not noticing the pretty flowers she'd brought into school. In tears she'd go home and her mom or Rosa would fix her a drink and she'd cry while they sympathised and the troubles would seem to disappear by the time the drink was gone. There was no way that was happening tonight though.

Tonight Jackie was screwed no matter what she had to drink.

Putting her cup down on the table, she swallowed hard. "I think you're all forgetting that I do still have a house to live in. A nice house at that. Tyler and I will be fine there."

Kitty furrowed her brow at Jackie. "Jackie, you can't stay there on your own. It's all settled, until Rosa's daughter-in-law is better you'll be living with us. Rosa would never have left for Chicago if you weren't staying here."

"She's right, Jackie," Donna said in agreement. "You're seventeen and you have little baby, you can't live on your own."

"But I can't stay here..." Jackie breathed out, willing herself not to cry again. She let her head fall into her hands in defeat. Everything was a mess. It was bad enough that Steven wasn't talking to her but now Rosa was leaving. Not permanently, Rosa has assured everyone, she would be back when her son's wife was out of the hospital. But still, she was leaving, just like everyone else in Jackie's life had. If she didn't watch out the freaking Formans would be next.

"Of course you can, dear," Kitty said as she stroked Jackie's hair in a comforting manner. "When you think about it, it's only a few nights a week more than you usually stay. It won't really be any different."

 _It won't really be any different?_

Jackie begged to differ on that one.

Everything would be different. Rosa wouldn't be around for a start. The woman had been the one constant in Jackie's life. The one person always ready with a shoulder to cry on or friendly ear ready to listen with. Jackie didn't know a life void of Rosa.

And then of course, there was the not-so-small matter of Steven not talking to her. It would have been hard enough staying out of his way for the three or four nights a week she usually stayed, but now she was going to be staying at the Formans' indefinitely. He didn't want her around and she didn't want to feel any more unwanted than she usually did.

"Mrs. Forman," Jackie whispered through her hands. "I really don't think staying here is a good idea."

"Well I'm sorry, Jackie, but until Rosa or that mother of yours come back to town you have no other option." Kitty looked down at Jackie just as fresh tears sprung from the young girl's eyes. "I cannot leave you and my grandbaby to fend for yourselves. Especially not when you have a loving family ready and able to take care of you right here."

"But-"

Kitty shook her head, her curls bouncing around her soft face. "No buts. Now, I'm going to go and get Steven so he can drive you to your house to fetch the rest of your things."

As the small woman turned on her heels Jackie quickly stood up.

"No, Mrs. Forman, don't get Steven!" Jackie's eyes were wide with worry. Hyde wasn't going to be happy about this new living arrangement and Jackie couldn't bear the thought of sitting in his car with him while he somehow managed to blame her for it. Rosa had only been gone fifteen minutes and Jackie was still in grief, a fight with Hyde would tip her right over the edge. She looked at Donna pleadingly before looking back at Kitty. "He can look after Tyler while Donna takes me," she said.

Donna jumped up and swiped the keys to the Cruiser from off the kitchen counter. "Yeah, I'll drive her. Back soon, Mrs. Forman!" she said following Jackie out of the door and into the cool evening air.

Once safely inside the car Jackie turned to her friend. "God, Donna, Steven's gonna be so mad about this."

"Jackie, this is hardly your fault. You can't help it if all the adults in your life have other places they need to be."

As Donna shifted the Cruiser into reverse and let it crawl out of the driveway Jackie sank further into the leather seat wishing _she_ had some other place to be. Preferably somewhere warm, child friendly, and where no ex-boyfriends were around to mess with her head and stuff things up.

But mostly, she wished she was somewhere she was wanted.

...

Later that night Jackie was slowly arranging her expensive French cosmetics on top of Laurie's old, cheap dresser. Her beautiful items didn't look anywhere near as sophisticated atop of such tacky furniture as they did in her own perfect bedroom, but she had to ignore that. She had to fight the sick feeling growing in her stomach that had begun when she'd placed her clothes on wire hangers and hung them in the wardrobe next to slut skirts. Staying in Laurie's old bedroom had been difficult; living in it was going to be torture. Made even worse by the absence of curly haired visitors.

Just as Jackie allowed herself to think about Hyde, knuckles rapped softly on the door.

"You busy?" Hyde peered around the door and Jackie's heart skipped a beat.

"No, " Jackie replied, dropping a lipstick into her cosmetics bag. She took a seat on the bed as Hyde stepped further into the room.

He glanced around a little, taking note of the numerous bags, before his gaze fixed on the wooden rocking horse in the corner. Arched eyebrows told Jackie that he wasn't impressed but instead of telling her so Hyde exhaled and looked at her.

"So, ah, Red told me about what happened, with Rosa n all," he said, folding his arms.

Jackie slowly nodded.

Hyde continued. "Heard you're gonna be stayin' here a while too."

Jackie nodded again. His clipped tone had rendered her speechless. A week ago she'd been gearing up to tell him she loved him and now she was too scared to even speak. Where was the rewind button on life? What she wouldn't have given right now to press that button and redo ever saying yes to Kelso's offer. Hyde was never going to get over it. He would never forgive her.

Hyde shrugged. "Well, y'know, just wanted to say that it sucks, Rosa leaving and stuff, and that if you need me for Tyler, or whatever, you know where to find me...so...yeah."

A courtesy call? Hyde had paid her a courtesy call and was now backing his way out of her room? Where was the hug? Where was the 'oh Jackie, I'm here for you, you have me..."?

Where was the miracle she'd been hoping for, but not holding her breath for?

"Steven wait," Jackie said quickly before he could escape back to Eric's room. Hyde turned around, his demeanor already ten degrees colder than it'd just been. "Um..." Jackie thought on her feet for something, _anything_ , to keep him talking. "Where's Tyler?"

"Red's got her."

"She must be needing to feed soon?"

Hyde shrugged again. "Dunno, probably. She was pretty happy when I left her. I can go get her if you want?"

Jackie shook her head knowing that come 10 o'clock everyone in the house would be asleep and she'd be on her own for the night with Tyler. She cherished these few hours at night when people wanted to dote on the baby girl and give her a break.

"No, it's okay, Red usually calls when she cries or poops."

Hyde nodded. "Yip, okay then, night Jack-"

Flustered, Jackie skipped over to him and put her hand on his forearm, disheartened when he flinched at her touch. "Hey, maybe you could stay and help me unpack?"

What was she thinking? As if Hyde would want to help her unpack...

Hyde regarded her as though she were crazy. "Um, no thanks," he said, pulling his arm away from her. "But I think Fez is downstairs. I'm sure he'd be right into that."

"But I wanted to hang out with you," Jackie told him. "You've barely spent longer than two minutes in a room with me since Monday...I miss you..."

It couldn't be too late for them. Jackie wouldn't let it be too late. If she had to use the last drop of emotional blackmail left inside her on him she would. It'd be worth it just to not have somebody walk out on her again.

"Please, Steven," she begged. "Please don't leave."

Her voice trembled as a lifetime of rejection and disappointment threatened to explode in a sea of tears. Jackie had become good at brushing off the pain of parental abandonment and morphing it into a good thing. Like she'd told her friends and frenemies - no parents meant no rules. Parents on holiday meant eventual presents upon their return home. Teenagers didn't need their parents.

 _Except when they did_.

But right this second Jackie didn't need her parents. She needed Hyde.

And he seemed to get it.

His face softened as he stared down at her. "I guess I could hang out here for a bit-"

Before he could finish his words Jackie had flung her arms around his neck, not caring whether her embrace was reciprocated, but relieved when it was. Hyde's arms wound around her waist, growing tighter as her sobs intensified.

"Ssssshhh, Jackie," he whispered. "It's gonna be okay."

It would be okay, Jackie figured, if Hyde was by her side through it all. She probably could pull herself together and survive without Rosa if she knew Hyde had her back and was watching out for her. But by stupidly agreeing to go to prom with Kelso she'd effectively pushed her relationship with Hyde back two years and it was going to take more than a few comforting hugs to drag them back to how it was a week ago.

The side of Jackie's face was pressed against Hyde's chest and the moisture of her tears seeped through his cotton t-shirt. Not that he would care.

"Is it though?" she asked him. "Is it going to be okay?"

"Jackie, come on, it'll be fine." Hyde led her to the bed and they both sat down. Jackie kept her arms firmly around him, fearing that if she broke contact he'd flee in a second. Touching his finger to Jackie's chin, Hyde brought her face up to look at him. "Rosa will be back real soon and everything'll go back to normal, k? This is temporary. She hasn't left you."

"But they're her family, Steven. Her real family. What if she likes it there so much that she doesn't come back? Who have I got if she doesn't come back to Point Place?"

Jackie searched beyond Hyde's sunglasses into his eyes, desperate for a flicker of hope. _"Me" s_ he wanted him to say. But it was fast becoming clear that what Jackie Burkhart wanted and what Jackie Burkhart got were two different things.

"You have Tyler and the Formans and Donna," Hyde casually rattled off. "And Fez-"

"What about you?"

Hyde cleared his throat. "I'm here aren't I?"

Jackie's hand smoothed Hyde's chest as her head lay on his shoulder. She heard his heartbeat thud in his chest, the timing matched hers perfectly. They were in sync, so alike in so many ways. Pity he didn't seem to know it right now.

"But do you want to be?" Jackie asked.

"Jackie..." Hyde's arm fell from Jackie's shoulder and she quickly sat up.

"Steven, please, can't you just forget about Michael and the stupid prom? I'm sorry for what I did and I'm sorry for hurting you and I know I was stupid but you can't keep ignoring me." The tears trickled down her cheeks as she gripped Hyde's t-shirt. He looked at her momentarily before his lips tightened and he looked away. But he was still sitting there. He hadn't bolted. And Jackie was still hanging onto hope that he wouldn't. "Please, Steven. Please forgive me..."

The silence was torturous but Jackie wasn't giving up. "Steven?"

After a few moments Hyde dragged in a breath of air and let his eyes fall on Jackie. Her stomach flipped as she watched his mouth open, ready to speak. But before any words could tumble from his lips a figure burst through the open door causing the young parents to turn their heads towards the ruckus.

Jackie's stomach was no longer flipping. Instead it felt as though a work boot had stomped right on it.

Standing in the doorway, dishevelled and out of breath, was Kelso holding his hands up, a tie dangling from each one.

"So, Jackie, did we decide on the yellow?" he asked, shaking the yellow silk tie in his right hand. "Or the blue?"


	30. Chapter 30

**So sorry for the huge delay! I so appreciate the reviews - you really encouraged me to keep going with this story - I promise you a new chapter will be up soon. I hope some people are still following this story xxx**

* * *

Hyde's foot furiously tapped the floor as he folded his arms across his chest and glared at his so-called friend.

He wanted to bolt.

 _God,_ he wanted to bolt.

But he also wanted to witness this sad exchange between idiots so that any other burns and insults directed at Jackie would be justified. Yeah, every time the brunette ran back to the bumbling moron Hyde was sure he felt his skin thicken. So he was equal parts annoyed and hurt, when Jackie told Kelso he should wear the blue tie.

"But why?" Kelso stomped his foot like a child and looked down at Jackie.

Jackie rolled her eyes. "Because it matches the dress, Michael," she told him.

"But if I wear the blue one I gotta pay Mark twenty dollars. I don't wanna pay him twenty bucks, Jackie. I just wanna wear the tie I already own."

"Oh, Michael, you're so cheap! Just give your brother the money or go buy yourself your own blue tie. Like I've told you a million times before - investing in good quality formal menswear is an investment into your future. Stop being cheap!"

Kelso pouted and stomped his foot again. "Fine! I'll steal a blue tie tomorrow."

"Good." Jackie nodded then flicked her hand toward the door. "Now go away, I'm trying to talk to Steven."

Hyde quickly stood up. "No, it's cool, I was just going."

"Wait, Steven, we weren't finished." Jackie grabbed his hand, her eyes slightly panicked. "Michael's going now." She turned toward Kelso and narrowed her eyes. "Aren't you, Michael?"

Kelso was still pouting. Still looking like a damn fool. God Hyde wanted to knock him the hell out. Sitting there listening to Jackie and Kelso talk about the prom was nauseating.

"But you haven't told me what flowers to get," the taller boy mumbled, throwing both ties over his shoulder.

Jackie sighed. "I don't care what flowers you get her -"

"Then why're you being so harsh about the tie?" Kelso asked.

Hyde's brow furrowed. 'What flowers you get _her_ '? Jackie really _wasn't_ going to the prom with Kelso? His chest felt a little lighter at the revelation and without even being consciously aware of it, he sat back down on the bed next to Jackie.

"Because you keep bugging me about it!" Jackie answered her ex. "I keep telling you that I actually have my own life but you won't quit harping on about what you're wearing to prom. Now I've told you what to wear you can leave me alone."

"But the corsage-"

Jackie's lips pursed. "I-don't-care!"

A slight smile flashed across Hyde's face as Kelso mumbled something about missing 'the old Jackie' and left the room in a huff. It had always been somewhat satisfying for Hyde to watch Jackie crush Kelso's spirit bit by bit. And even though he didn't care - he did after all have thick skin when it came to her - he still felt more relaxed in that moment than he had all week.

So relaxed in fact, that he lightly kicked at a box full of stupid trophies and said, "So, you still want a hand unpacking some of this crap?"

To which Jackie enthusiastically replied, "Yes!"

They unpacked in silence for what felt like forever, both actively avoiding bringing up the prom or Kelso. Hyde was relieved she wasn't going to the stupid dance with her ex but it still didn't mean all was forgiven and that they were back to normal. _Normal..._ what the hell even was 'normal' with him and Jackie? Normal used to be them taking swipes at each other out of complete contempt; then it all of a sudden became normal to hook every time they were alone; and for a while it seemed it was normal to do both.

But now nothing felt normal.

Hyde shook his head as he placed a small 'Prettiest Ballerina 1971' trophy down on the dresser.

"Jackie, you know you're not here forever right? Just until Rosa or your ma gets back."

Jackie didn't look up as she arranged her perfume bottles. "Yeah I know," she sighed.

Hyde reluctantly picked up another trophy and placed it next to the others. "Then why bring all this stuff?" he asked, eyeing Jackie curiously. "In a couple of weeks you'll just have to box it all up again and go home."

Jackie sighed again and tucked some strands of hair behind her ear. She looked a mess. Her eyes were red and puffy and without their usual spark, and the oversized Point Place High sweater she wore was a tell-tale sign that she didn't care about anything anymore. Hyde could relate. Being ditched by your whole family and having to move into the Formans' wasn't the proudest moment in a teenager's life.

"I brought these things coz they're mine," she said as she flopped down on the bed. "If I can't be at my own house I should at least be able to have some of my things around me."

Hyde nodded. He could sort of see what she meant. But a swimming trophy won when she was five years old? Why would she want to bring that? He didn't get it, but then again, he didn't get Jackie, so he continued to unpack her crap.

When he turned around ten minutes later Jackie was curled up on the bed fast asleep. Hyde pulled up the blanket to cover her small frame and left the room as quietly as he could. It had taken all he had for the last 30 minutes not get into a screaming match with her; to not utter the words he so wanted to speak - that Jackie was a game-playing bitch who couldn't handle not getting her own way. The words had been on the tip of his tongue for the past week but he'd held them in out of respect for her as the mother of his child. If only she'd had the same kind of respect for him as Tyler's father. If only she'd thought about how he'd feel before saying yes to Kelso. His hand clenched as he walked into the kitchen but he quickly relaxed it when he saw Kitty fixing warm milk on the stove with Tyler in one arm.

"She's been quiet tonight," Hyde said as he scooped Tyler into his own arms.

"Yes she has," Kitty agreed. "Babies know, you know?"

Hyde looked at her confused. "Know what?"

"They know when their mothers are upset. Tyler probably senses that Jackie isn't herself at the moment so she's being a good girl and giving her mom some time to adjust." Kitty nodded while she poured milk into two cups. "Poor Jackie."

Hyde rolled his eyes and Kitty gasped.

"Steven! Why did you just roll your eyes young man?" she demanded to know.

Hyde shifted in his seat and moved his sleeping daughter higher up his chest. "I didn't," he lied.

Kitty narrowed her eyes but brought a cup milk over for him all the same. "Oh yes you did! Now I hope you're not still being a broody brood over Jackie saying she'd go to the prom with Michael? Because if you are, then you just need to get over it okay?"

Hyde was taken aback. "Excuse me? Get over it? I'm sorry Mrs. Forman but I am so not gonna get over it just like that. What she did was bitchy, plain and simple." He took a sip of his drink before adding, "Oh, and sorry for the cuss word."

"Steven, I'm not worried about the cuss word, but I am worried about you and Jackie," Kitty said. "That girl has been through a lot over the last few months and you not talking to her right now isn't helping."

"No disrespect, Mrs. Forman, but I really don't wanna talk about this with you," Hyde said. When he moved to stand Kitty put her hand on his shoulder signalling to him that he wasn't going anywhere. Normally he would've shrugged the hand off, but it was Kitty so he couldn't be his usual abrupt self.

"Well you need to talk to someone, Steven, and I haven't seen anyone else trying to talk sense into you this week so I guess that means I'm it!"

Hyde exhaled loudly before brushing his lips across Tyler's forehead. "Fine," he relented. "You can talk all you want. But it's not gonna make any difference. Jackie's been behaving like a spoiled brat and I'm done with it."

Kitty frowned. "But you have to at least try and see things from her perspective. In the course of a year she's become pregnant, lost her mother to the beaches of Brazil, lost her father to prison, had a baby, and now lost Rosa for the foreseeable future - that's a lot for anyone to go through, let alone a 17 year old child."

"We all go through crap in our lives, Mrs. F. Doesn't mean we get to do what we like and crap all over our friends."

Kitty looked solemnly at Hyde and squeezed his hand. "Jackie hasn't been thinking clearly lately, Steven. The pregnancy hormones are still settling down and she's barely been sleeping. Add to that what's going on with her parents...you can't really blame her for making a few silly decisions can you dear? She deserves a break don't you think?"

"She's had her fair share of breaks," Hyde said thinking back to the time he got arrested for the cheerleader.

"Just like someone else I know," Kitty said raising her eyebrows. "How would you have felt if every time you made a stupid decision Red and I stopped talking to you?"

"We're not talking about me though." Hyde wasn't gonna admit it but he could kind of see Kitty's point. Maybe he hadn't looked at the whole picture and only chosen to see the bits he'd wanted to see. Not that he'd wanted to see Kelso's ugly mug all the time, but it'd sure popped up quite a bit over the last few months.

Just like Hyde had known it would.

"Well, we kind of are, dear."

"Fine," Hyde relented, "I'll talk to Jackie more if it makes you happy."

Kitty smiled. "And you'll be nice to her and make her feel welcome while she's here?"

Hyde shrugged. "Sure."

"Oh you're a good boy!" Kitty exclaimed as she stood up and put her cup in the sink. "Now I'm off to bed. Sing out if you need any help during the night."

"Will do," Hyde told her knowing full well he'd never wake her up in the middle of the night for help with Tyler. He and Jackie had the routine sorted, even when they weren't even speaking to each other. "Good night, Mrs. Forman."

"Good night, Steven."

...

 _The Next Afternoon_

Strapping Tyler into her pram, Jackie was startled when the sliding door quickly opened. She clipped the last clasp and looked up to see Hyde returning home from work.

"Oh, hi," she said as she carefully tucked a pink blanket snug around the baby.

"Hi," Hyde replied. "Where are you two off too?"

"The Hub. The others left a little while ago and I said I'd meet them there once Tyler was fed."

"I'll drive you."

"No it's fine. It's such a beautiful day out there I thought the walk would be nice."

Hyde jingled his keys. "You sure? You usually hate walking anywhere."

"That was before I had a beautiful pram and a more beautiful baby to parade around," Jackie half-teased. "People can't admire our child if she's hidden inside a car, Steven."

"That's true," Hyde smiled, stepping aside so Jackie could push the pram through the door. "Well enjoy your walk."

"We will!"

Jackie stepped outside and inhaled deeply before exhaling slowly. Her exchange with Hyde had been painfully polite, as though they were acquaintances meeting for the third time. It had been like that every time Tyler had been up through the night; courteous conversation about whether the baby had burped, pooped, fed enough, or slept enough. It was so sickeningly cordial that Jackie had feigned sleep and stayed upstairs until Hyde had gone to work that morning, and she'd hoped this walk would have her gone before he returned.

Argumentative Hyde she could handle; polite Hyde she could not.

Polite Hyde meant he didn't care anymore. Like there was nothing left fighting for.

The breeze was warm on her face and by the time she left the driveway she was finally relaxed. Life sucked, there was no doubt about it. But with a fresh face of make-up on and a new pair of jeans Jackie was trying hard to get back to being her old self. The old Jackie who didn't cry 24/7. The one who wasn't an orphan.

"Lucky I have you," she said, smiling down at her baby who beamed back at her mother with piercing blue eyes. "You are just the prettiest thing I've ever seen. And I've seen lots of pretty things, Tyler...I've looked in the mirror at least five times a day for the last 15 years - so I know pretty when I see it - and I think you're going to be even prettier-"

"Jackie, wait up!" a voice called from behind.

Jackie turned around and was a little disheartened to see Hyde jogging to catch up to her and Tyler. She bit down on her lip and looked back down at the baby.

"It was meant to be just you and me," she whispered. "I don't feel like idle chit chat with your daddy."

"Hey," Hyde panted a little when he reached them. "You walked fast."

"Its called power walking," Jackie said. "It gets rid of the fat without making me sweat like a pig."

"Oh yip, whatever. Anyway, thought I'd take a walk with you guys." He bent down and gently pinched Tyler's cheek. "Hi bubba!" he greeted her.

"Why?" Jackie asked, watching the obvious delight in her daughter's face as she gazed at her father.

Hyde stood up and shrugged. "Why not?"

"Because you have a car."

"But I figured I may as well see what all this fresh air business is about n go for a walk with you guys."

Jackie started walking again, conscious of the man walking next to her. "Whatever."

They walked in silence for two blocks, the only noise the sound of cars whizzing by and school kids playing on the sidewalk. Hyde would sometimes blow a raspberry at Tyler or tell her to look at something stupid she couldn't even see. But he didn't talk to Jackie, and she didn't talk to him. Mostly because she didn't know what to say.

When they rounded the corner to The Hub Jackie exhaled again, relieved to know her friends were inside and the awkwardness would soon be over.

As they crossed the carpark, Hyde said, "Man, we would'a been here ten minutes ago if we'd brought the car."

"But the point of walking was to get some fresh air."

"I would'a opened the windows for you," Hyde said, holding the door open for her and the pram. He grinned at Jackie as she passed and she rolled her eyes back at him.

"Always the gentleman, Steven," she smiled.

"You know it, doll."

The gang were sitting at their usual table by the restrooms so Jackie hurried over. On cue Donna jumped out of her seat and reached for the pram.

"Can I get her out?" the redhead asked, already undoing the safety belt.

A tanned arm shot out between Donna and the baby. "No, you baby hogger. Jackie said next hold was mine," Fez said, lifting Tyler out of her mobile bed and into his arms.

Donna swung her head around, her eyes wide in disbelief. "Jackie! Are you gonna let him do that? Why does he get her?"

Jackie sat down in the booth next to Fez and lightly shrugged. "First in first served," she told her friend. "I don't mind who holds her so long as I get to have a shake in peace."

"What flavour?"

Jackie looked up to see Hyde standing across the table. Was he offering to get her a milkshake? Two nights ago when she'd asked him to pass her the salt he'd flat out ignored her, so this was a major turn around.

"Um, vanilla?" she tentatively answered him.

Hyde walked off to the counter while Jackie turned her attention to her friend's conversation. Before wishing she hadn't.

"Fez," Eric started. "Deal with it, man. You don't have a date now and you're not gonna get one by next weekend. You're riding solo to prom, my friend."

Donna nodded. "Yeah, hate to say it, Fez, but I have to agree with Eric. Your chances are pretty slim."

"Ai!" Fez grumbled, jiggling Tyler in his arms. "But Kelso swore to me that there would still be fatties and uggos needing a date. That sonofabitch lied to me!" When he realised he'd cursed in front of the baby he gasped. "Oh baby, please forgive your Uncle Fez," he said looking down at her. "Your Uncle Fez is just very upset because your stupid Uncle Kelso is a lying scoundrel!"

Jackie crossed her legs and sighed. "You guys, do we _have_ to talk about prom?" she said quietly, keeping an eye on Hyde who was still ordering her shake. "I've come here to get away from my problems, you lot talking about that is just gonna start another argument."

"Easy for you to say," Fez scoffed. "You had a date but did not want it. I, on the other hand, don't even have a date to get rid of."

"Fez, please don't ever bring up my prom date again, okay?" Jackie was swinging her leg furiously under the table. "I'm not going, it's over, can we please all forget about it."

"Fine with me," Eric agreed. "I've had enough of living in World War 3. The less said about you and Kelso going to prom together the better."

Just as Eric finished the last of his sentence a vanilla shake slammed down on the table.

"Sorry," Jackie peered up at Hyde nervously. "I told these morons I didn't want to talk about prom."

Hyde pulled out a chair next to Donna and sat down. "Doesn't bother me," he said, folding his arms across his chest. "You guys are free to talk about whatever you want."

Jackie's heart sunk a little. He really didn't care anymore. He wasn't getting all jealous and possessive. He was just being a co-parent, going for a walk with her and their child and hanging out with their friends. Jackie had burned the last bridge holding them together as anything more than friends, and he was over her.

She sipped on her shake in sadness.

"There's got to be someone in this town who'll go with me," Fez said, his eyes scanning The Hub in hope.

Jackie pushed her straw into her drink and scowled at Fez. "If you don't stop talking about the prom you're never holding my baby again!"

"But..."

"Zip it, Fez!"

"Fine! But just know, lady, that as soon as you're not around the prom is all that I will be talking about." Fez slumped back in his seat and held Tyler close, probably in fear that Jackie would take her off him. But she wouldn't, because she was heartbroken and trying to make herself feel better by drinking 1000 calories.

"Well," Hyde said grinning, "this is fun."

"It sure is," Eric said sarcastically. "Remember when we used to do actual fun stuff? Like play with slingshots and bottle rockets and have afternoon circles...when did that stuff stop?"

Donna frowned at him. "Eric, you did all of that last weekend."

"So seven days ago then?" nodded Eric.

"Lucky you, man." Hyde stretched his arms above his head. "I can't remember the last time I did any of that. I'm a 40 year old man living in an 18 year old's body."

Jackie's heart sunk even further. Now she'd become the noose around Hyde's neck. The tight rope keeping him from living his life. She couldn't have felt any more crap than she did right then. So she drank more of her shake.

"Y'know, we can change this," Eric piped up. "We don't have to sit around here on a Saturday afternoon watching everyone else. We're young, we should be having fun! And I know just the place..."

"If you say your basement I'll slap you, Eric," Donna said seriously.

"No! Not my basement! Simon Middleton is having a pool party this afternoon. They have two kegs, guys. Not one, but TWO kegs!"

When Jackie saw Hyde's face light up she sighed. He'd probably go to the party, meet a blonde skank and screw her brains out. This was shaping up to be the worst walk to The Hub ever.

Hyde stood up abruptly and held his arms out across the table. "Fez, gimme the baby," he ordered. Next he looked at Jackie. "Hurry up and finish your shake, Jackie."

Jackie glared at him. "Excuse me?"

"C'mon!" Hyde was frantically strapping Tyler into the pram, not caring that he still hadn't told Jackie what the hell was going on.

"Steven! We only just got here. I'm not ready to go!"

"Jackie, no time to talk, let's go." With that, Hyde and the pram were already bolting towards the door. Jackie took one last sip of her shake before sliding out of her seat.

"I don't know what's going on with him," she said apologetically to Donna. "I'll call you later."

This time it was Jackie jogging to catch up to Hyde who was crossing the carpark heading for home.

"Steven!" she called out, not caring that a group of juniors from school were watching. "Can you just wait?"

Hyde stopped and let her catch up to him. "Sorry, man. We just gotta hurry."

"Why?" Jackie asked as they power walked along the main road. "So you can shower and change ready for your big night out?"

Hyde looked at her puzzled. "No. So we can catch Mrs. F before she pours herself a wine."

"Why?"

"Jackie, do you really want her drinking while she babysits?"

Taken aback, Jackie reached for the pram handle and stopped it. "What? You're asking Mrs. Forman to babysit?"

"Yeah," Hyde said nonchalantly. "We both need some time out and you've been expressing your milk stuff, right?"

Jackie nodded, both scared and excited at the thought of actually leaving the house without Tyler.

"Mrs. Forman's been gagging to babysit her so let's let her."

A smile crept across Jackie's face. She couldn't believe Hyde actually wanted her to go with him to Simon's party. Maybe the fresh air had knocked some sense into him.

"Are you sure you want me tagging along?" she asked, seeking just a little reassurance.

"You sure you wanna tag along?"

Jackie nodded.

"Then start power walking, doll."


	31. Chapter 31

Pamela Burkhart had made motherhood look easy. Okay, she hadn't spent her time making lunches, cooking dinners, or baking delightful after school treats - Rosa had done all of that. But Pamela had made other aspects of being a mother appear breezy; namely the times she'd left her only child at home while she attended numerous charity auctions, cocktail parties, or trips abroad. It would take hours for Pam to get herself ready but only moments would be devoted to kissing Jackie goodbye.

The older Burkhart had made saying goodbye look so damn easy.

But it wasn't.

"We shouldn't be going," a tearful Jackie said as she watched Kitty wave Tyler's little hand from where they stood at the kitchen door.

Hyde started the Camino. "Jackie, we've been over this, she'll be fine."

"But what if she's not?" Jackie couldn't tear her eyes away from her daughter as the car slowly reversed down the driveway. "What if she needs me? Or gets scared? Oh my god, Steven, what if she suffocates?!"

"Are you kidding me?" Hyde stopped the car momentarily and looked straight at Jackie who at that moment was having a slight panic attack. "Tyler is not gonna suffocate."

"She could choke...what if Mrs. Forman doesn't check her crib properly for little objects before she puts her down?" Jackie's hands were growing sweaty and her heart was racing. Just as she reached for the door handle to escape the car and get back to her rightful place with her baby, Hyde quickly leaned across her and locked the door.

"Jackie," he said softly, resting his hand on her leg. "Mrs. F is a nurse. Tyler couldn't be in more capable hands tonight, okay? Hell, she's probably safer tonight with them than she is when she's with us."

"But -"

"But nothing, Jackie. We've been over, and over and _over_ this. The baby will be fine and we needa get out, man. So can we just go?"

Hyde looked exasperated and Jackie couldn't really blame him. Donna, Eric and Fez had left to go to Simon's an hour ago, but because of Jackie's fretting Hyde still hadn't made it down the driveway. He had been patient throughout Jackie's anxiety but it was clear the patience was now wearing thin. Jackie sighed and gazed up the driveway. Deep down she knew Tyler would be fine with Mrs. Forman, but it didn't make leaving her any easier.

"Okay, we can go," she affirmed with a curt nod of her head.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Really, really sure? Coz you've said we can go ten times in the last hour but so far we've only made it six metres down the driveway."

Jackie clasped her hands together tight on her lap and nodded again. "This time we can go, Steven," she said confidently. "Nothing will happen to the baby if we leave her for an hour or two..."

"That's right," Hyde said, patting her twice on the shoulder before pressing his foot down on the accelerator before she changed her mind again. "Now try n relax and have a good time."

Hyde flashed Jackie a quick grin as the tyres hit the street, motoring the two parents closer to their destination. Finally allowing her body to relax, Jackie lay her head back on the seat and watched the houses whiz by. Simon lived on the nice side of town, the side Jackie had lived on until a couple of days ago. His house was five down from the Burkharts' and even though Jackie had spent years denying it, his house was even grander than hers. But it wasn't just a neighbourhood Jackie and Simon shared; he too was the product of parents who worked, travelled and socialised too much. Hence his frequent parties. Jackie's stomach twisted as she thought of her house, on that street, and she wondered if there would ever be a time her and her family would be reunited.

But she needed to forget that her life was nearly in ruins, after all, she was still beautiful and still only 17. It hadn't been easy leaving her baby but hopefully the night would be worth it.

* * *

He didn't want to look at her. And he sure as hell didn't want to ask her what was wrong. He wanted to get to the damn party and down some beers - something he would've been doing an hour ago if she hadn't been so damn emotional. Crazy chicks and their crazy feelings.

He chanced a quick glance in Jackie's direction as he made a right onto Kennedy Street. She was still snivelling. They were only going to the party for a few hours. What did she think was gonna happen to Tyler in that time? Oh, that's right, she could choke, or drown, or suffocate...Hyde shook his head at the thought. Tyler was in the most responsible hands out. There was no way Mrs. F would let anything happen to his girl.

He stopped an audible sigh escaping, and said, "Jackie, we're only gonna be a couple hours, she'll be fine."

"Oh I know." Jackie sat up a little straighter and ran her hand through her hair. "I know the baby will be okay with Mrs. Forman. It was just hard y'know...leaving her. I'm used to her being with me. And she's still so little, and cute, and needy..." She bit her lip thoughtfully and Hyde's wall crumbled ever so slightly. He should be happy Tyler had a mom who loved her so much that she couldn't bear to go out for three hours. Especially as his mom had hated him so much she'd left forever.

He smiled and nodded. "Yep, she is cute," he said. "And remember, I said I'll call every half hour to check in on her and I will. Swear I won't forget."

"Damn right you won't forget, coz I'll be reminding you," Jackie stated, arching her eyebrows before letting her head fall back on the seat.

They drove the next couple of miles in silence and the awkwardness was precisely the reason Hyde had wanted to drive to the party with Forman and the others. Being alone with Jackie was torture. Every time he saw her he wanted to touch her, she was a freaking magnet and his hands were the paperclips scuttling over the desk towards her. But as strong as his physical desire for her was, his head was stronger. Jackie wasn't gonna make him stupid anymore. He'd been there, done that, and written the book. They could be friends, but that was it.

"You have got to be kidding me?"

Jackie's words snapped Hyde back into reality. "What?" he asked as he pulled the Camino into park two doors down from Simon's.

"Cynthia is wearing the same top I bought last week," Jackie said, picking up her bag.

Hyde rolled his eyes, pulled the keys from the ignition, and stepped out of the car. Once he'd joined Jackie on the sidewalk he lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. A few kids were milling about on Simon's front lawn and offered 'hello's' as Jackie and Hyde walked past. As he puffed on his cigarette, Hyde pretended to not notice the death glares Jackie was directing at Cynthia, but when she slowed her pace and raised a hand to her hip he had to intervene.

"What are you doing, Jackie?" he said putting his hand on her lower back trying to usher her inside. "Who cares what she's wearing?"

Jackie looked up at him like he was stupid. "Uh, me! How can I wear that now everyone's seen her in it, Steven? She's a freshman."

"It'll be hard, but I'm sure you'll figure out what to do," Hyde said, pressing a little harder on her back. "But figure it out tomorrow, k? Coz right now we need to find the beer."

Surprisingly, Jackie listened and quickened her step in time with his. As they walked side by side, his hand still on her back, Hyde could feel people's eyes on them. Aside from a couple of trips to the Hub and the mall, this was the first time he and Jackie had been out together since the baby had arrived and it was sure to set tongues wagging. Part of Hyde - probably the part of him that kept his hand on her - wanted the tongues to wag. Let them think he and Jackie were together. That would keep other guys away from her. But the other part of him knew that eventually he'd have to set everybody straight. She wasn't his, and he didn't want her to be...

"You're finally here!" Donna threw her arms around Jackie's neck and Hyde quickly shoved his hand in his pocket. "Kegs out by the pool," Donna said, ushering Hyde and Jackie through the lounge and out to the backyard.

If Hyde had to guess he would've said the whole school had turned up to that party. Kids were everywhere, and not just the 'cool' kids either, there were band kids and even some of the mathletics team. He smiled and nodded as he walked over to where Eric and Kelso were by the keg. He sure liked how non-discriminatory Simon was.

"Great party, huh?" Eric said, handing Hyde a plastic cup of beer.

"It will be when I find the stereo and change the music." Hyde winked and took a sip of his drink wondering why Donna Summers had to be the soundtrack to every high school party in America.

"But I love this song!"

Hyde watched Jackie for a moment. Bronzed legs, only partially covered in a short white skirt, glowed as she danced in one spot. Oversized sunglasses balanced on her little face as she took in the party-goers, her eagerness displayed in a huge smile.

God she looked good.

"Of course you do." Hyde didn't know why he did it, and he regretted it immediately, but for a moment his index finger landed on the tip of Jackie's nose. Again he shoved his wandering hand back into his jacket pocket, but not before Jackie's smile grew even larger as she looked up at him. "So," he said, turning and facing Kelso, "when are you gonna do it?"

"Very soon, my friend," Kelso beamed holding up his cup of beer. "Just need a couple more of these and then I'm good to go!"

Eric's face contorted slightly. "Yeah, Kelso, I dunno about it, man. The pools not that deep down that end."

"It's deep enough," Hyde threw in. If Kelso wanted to be an idiot and jump off the roof and into the pool who was Hyde to try and stop him?

"But that roof is high, like _high_ high and I know I'm not that good at physics but I just don't think that water is deep enough for you to land in without breaking numerous bones." Eric shrugged as Kelso's eyes went from the roof to the pool, then back to the roof, and back to the pool. "But it's up to you, Kelso."

"Yeah, it's up to you, Kelso," Hyde agreed. "And I say do it." Sipping his beer, Hyde decided that at least watching Kelso fuck himself over would stop Hyde thinking about the little brunette dancing next to him. He needed a distraction, and Kelso was always good for that.

"Oh I'm doin' it!" Kelso cried. "Even brought my little brother's trike. I'll be like Evel Knievel, only I won't be on fire." His face turned thoughtful and he looked at Hyde. "Any way we could set me on fire, Hyde?"

Hyde grinned enthusiastically. "Oh I'm sure we could find a way." Grabbing the keg tap, Hyde filled his cup again before directing the gang over to the hedge and out of the way of the beer queue.

"You guys are idiots!" Donna said, tossing her bag down on the grass. "Kelso, you're not jumping off that roof."

"I know I'm not, I'm riding off!"

Donna rolled her eyes. "You're not _riding_ off that roof then. And you guys," she said turning to Eric and Hyde, "stop encouraging him! He'll kill himself!"

"I don't know that it'd kill him. Probably just maim him." Eric looked at the tiled roof and nodded.

"And who are we to stand in the way of a guy with a plan, Donna? Kelso has been planning this all day - are you really gonna let those plans go to waste?"

Donna eyed Hyde critically. "Well _I'm_ not taking him to the hospital, Hyde. When he hurts himself, you're looking after him."

Suddenly, Jackie popped up, pulling her sunglasses from her face. She pointed her finger at Kelso sternly. "Look, mister," she started. "I'm the driver tonight and I am not, repeat NOT, driving you to the hospital. Got it? You are not ruining my night by breaking a bone. I am going to dance, eat, and show off my fabulous post-baby body and tan, then I am going home to my precious baby and am not detouring anywhere for you. So, Michael, you will not jump off the roof, or the table, or a chair - in fact, you will not even jump off the side into that pool, okay?"

With eyes wide, Kelso nodded at Jackie. "Okay," he mumbled.

"Good," she said. "Now go over there and get me one of those deck chairs. I can't sit on that grass in a white skirt." As Kelso ran off to fetch a chair Jackie smiled at Donna. "You're so lucky you don't wear nice clothes, lumberjack. You can sit anywhere you want! Your life must be so easy."

"Oh yeah, it's a total breeze," Donna mocked, flicking her red tresses out behind her. "Anyway, why are we sitting here with these morons?" she asked Jackie seriously. "Let's go for a walk around or something?"

Jackie raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Is somebody hungry already? Is 'let's go for a walk' code for 'let's go find the snacks'?"

Eric nudged Hyde in the side and whispered, "Oh how I long for the days when she was laid up at home all pregnant unable to come out with us. I'd nearly forgotten she was Satan's sister."

Hyde chuckled, feigning his agreement, when really he was kind of enjoying having Jackie around. At home it was all 'baby, baby, baby'. But here she was relaxed and as cutting as she'd always been.

Donna sighed. "No, Jackie, as shocking as it may seem I am not going searching for food. I just wanna have a look around, see who's here n stuff."

Kelso returned with an armful of folded up deck chairs. Hyde took two, opening one for Jackie, and then one for himself.

Jackie sat down and folded her legs. "Maybe later," she said to Donna. "I'm happy here for now."

Eric groaned and flopped down on his chair. "Oh great. So Kelso's not jumping off the roof and we have to hang with the Wicked Witch of the West all evening. Some party this is shaping up to be."

"Bite me, Eric," Jackie scowled.

"No thanks, I'd probably start frothing at the mouth."

"Now, now, you two, play nice." Hyde stood up. He needed a whiz and he had to call Mrs. Forman. "Back soon."

He'd barely made it three steps before Jackie was at his tail, pulling on the end of his jacket. "Wait up, Steven, I'm coming," she told him, tucking her small hand around his bicep.

"Why?" Hyde asked gruffly, equally irked and chuffed at her physical proximity. She was getting to him. He'd brought her tonight to try and cheer her up a bit but now he seemed to be the one getting all cheery and he knew that once he got cheery he got stupid.

When he got cheery he got people pregnant.

And then he got hurt.

"You're calling to see how Tyler is right?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah. You don't need to come though. I'm a big boy, Jackie, I can use a phone all on my own y'know?"

Jackie giggled and her grip on his arm tightened. "I know that," she smiled. "But I just want to come and see how she is. Plus, I need to use the bathroom."

The telephone wasn't hard to find, every kitchen had a telephone in it, but Hyde bet that not every kitchen had eight girls in barely there bikinis parading around in it. Their presence was making dialing the damn number an arduous task, and Jackie's glares were making the job even tougher. When a slim blonde wearing a hot pink bikini bent over to look in the fridge Hyde knew it was time to turn and face the wall.

"Surprised you could rip your eyes away," Jackie grumbled under her breath as the phone rang.

Thankfully Kitty picked up after two short rings and Hyde was more than happy to keep her on the phone...until Jackie ripped it off him.

"I'm so pleased she's okay!" she said into the phone. Hyde watched her talk, careful not to pay any attention to the bevy of beauties walking in and out of the room. "And she had half a bottle when?...That should tide her over for a while then...Yes, I'm having a good time, I'm just...I know she's fine with you, it's...yes, Mrs. Forman, I'll try and enjoy myself...Steven? Oh he's having a great time! He can barely keep his eyes in their sockets..." She pursed her lips at him and he glared back at her. "It's a pool party remember, Mrs. Forman, and we all know how much Steven loves girls in bathing suits..."

With that, Hyde grabbed the phone off Jackie and quickly said, "Bye, Mrs, F, I'll call again soon," before slamming it back in the receiver. "Damn, Jackie, what did you say that for?" he said as she followed him down the hall to the bathroom.

"It was just a joke, Steven, calm down."

"Funny joke. Ha. Ha."

The line to the bathroom was short by normal party standards but then again it was only 6pm, the night was still young. Hyde stood next to a guy from his chem class and made small talk about the weather and partaking in a minor drug deal later on at the back of the garage. High school parties, man, the easiest way to make a quick buck.

When it was Hyde's turn to use the bathroom he was dumbfounded to find a certain cheerleader skirting in on his time.

"What the hell, Jackie?!" he said as she pushed the door closed behind him and locked it. "You know the rules, get back out there n wait your turn, man."

Paying him no mind, Jackie walked straight to the basin. "Ignore me," she told him before lifting her flimsy top and exposing her white bra.

Hyde felt a twinge in his pants when he saw her reflection in the mirror and he panicked. "What the hell are you doing?!" To his horror and delight Jackie unclipped her maternity bra and pulled the fabric down until all Hyde could see were her perfectly rounded breasts. His pulse quickened as he stood frozen.

"I've got to get rid of some of this milk, my boobs are killing me," Jackie stated nonchalantly. She looked across her shoulder at Hyde and smiled sweetly. "Don't mind me-" she nodded at the toilet in the corner, "- I've seen you go to the bathroom before."

Hyde took a deep breath and paused for a second, waiting for his hard-on to go. Once Jackie started squirting breastmilk into the basin he knew he was safe to take a piss without it flying everywhere.

As he relieved himself he caught Jackie's eye in the bathroom mirror. He smiled. "You're something else, you know that, Jackie?"

She grinned back at him. "I know."

* * *

"What took you so long?" Donna asked when Hyde and Jackie got back to the others.

"Steven was checking out sluts."

"Jackie was milking herself."

Eric shuddered. "Don't tell me anymore!"

The skinny dork put his hands over his ears as Jackie sat down in her seat and poked her tongue out at him. A cool sensation touch her bare arm and she smiled sweetly at Hyde when he handed her the ice cold can of lemonade he'd swiped on the way out of the house. "Thanks," she said. He half-smiled back at her before sitting down.

Jackie watched him take a swig of beer, waiting to see if she'd catch his eye again. What was going on with him? All day he'd been so sweet; taking care of the baby so Jackie could get ready; telling her she looked nice when really she felt like a big fat pig. He'd even put his hand on her back all protective like when they'd arrived at Simon's. Could the hard shell that protected Hyde finally be softening?

God Jackie hoped so.

"Hey, Jackie -"

Jackie frowned when Kelso spoke. She'd much rather stare at Hyde than talk to Michael freaking Kelso. "What?" she snapped.

"Your hot friends are looking for you."

"Which ones? All of my friends are hot - except you guys of course - so you'll have to be more specific."

Kelso's mouth fell open. "Take that back - I so am hot!"

Donna groaned. "It was Pauline and Chloe," she told Jackie.

"Chloe B. or Chloe L.," Jackie asked, ignoring Kelso who was still babbling something about being hot.

"Chloe L. Chloe B. is still grounded for getting that hickey the other week." Donna stood up and brushed bits of grass off her denim shorts. "Anyone need another drink?" she asked, taking Eric and Kelso's cups before heading over to the keg.

Jackie tut-tutted as she thought about Chloe B. "Ew, hickies are so gross," she said to the boys. "My parents would've been so disappointed in me if I had come home with slut marks all over my neck."

"As opposed to how proud they were when you came home pregnant," Eric remarked before swiftly being punched in the arm.

"Can it, Forman," Hyde growled. He looked over at Jackie next to him. "You wanna go find your friends?"

Butterflies took flight in her stomach and she grinned at him. "Are you coming with me to find them?"

Hyde frowned. "Ah, no. But feel free to go for a walk. You haven't seen your friends in a while so don't think you gotta stay here with us."

The butterflies plummeted to the ground but Jackie did her best to stay outwardly composed. Maybe she'd misread Hyde's signals. Maybe he hadn't blushed when they'd been in the bathroom. Maybe he hadn't puffed his chest out when Troy Hart had stopped Jackie to say hi by the pool.

Maybe there really wasn't any hope for them.

Gathering up her handbag, Jackie swallowed hard. "Yeah, why would I sit here with you losers when I could be hanging out with people who are actually cool," she said with a smile. "I'll catch you later."

She didn't turn around or stay long enough to hear a response. She just walked until she was lost in the crowd by the pool where her heart could break without anyone hearing it.

* * *

Hyde pinched the bridge of his nose to stop the headache that was brewing and hung up the phone. It was getting dark out and for some reason the darkness meant the volume on the stereo had to go up a few hundred notches. Disco music was penetrating its way into every fibre of Hyde's being. No wonder he had a freaking headache.

He turned around and bumped right into a chick, knocking her beer.

"Shit, sorry," he said, even though he didn't really care.

"Don't worry about it," the girl said, smiling brightly. She was tiny, smaller than Jackie even, and had her black hair cut short into bob. Hyde didn't recognise her. She had to be from Our Lady of Perpetual Sorrow 'cause Hyde knew pretty much every chick in Point Place bar the Catholic ones. "So how's your little girl?" the chick asked before he could get out of the kitchen.

"Huh?"

The girl nodded toward the telephone on the wall. "I heard you on the phone, checking on your baby. Is she okay?"

Hyde rubbed his temple, he could feel the dull throb through his skin. Fucking disco crap!

"Ah, she's - " Hold up, he didn't have to tell some stranger that Tyler was safe and sound tucked up in bed. The only person who needed to know that was Jackie. But he hadn't seen her in two damn hours. He shrugged and mumbled a 'whatever' before leaving the chick standing in the kitchen.

Where the hell _was_ Jackie? Her disappearance was starting to really fuck him off. So what if he'd told her to go? It didn't mean that she had to listen. He'd told Kelso to set himself on fire and ride a three year old's tricycle off a roof and into a pool and that moron hadn't listened to him. So why did Jackie?

And what about Tyler? Didn't Jackie care about her kid? She hadn't been back once to see how she was doing and Hyde knew she hadn't called Mrs. Forman because Mrs. F would've told him. Jackie was just off having a good time on her own without him.

Not that he cared.

Much.

Eric and the others were still in their spot by the keg, only now they had extra additions, namely Fez and the poor chick who Kelso had chosen to suck face with all night. She was a Junior from school and an alright girl. She didn't say much and willingly filled up the boys cups with beer so Hyde didn't mind her hanging around, plus she kept Kelso occupied with her mouth so at least they didn't have to hear him talk all that often.

Hyde sat down in his seat and picked up his cup from the ground.

"Tyler okay?" Donna slurred.

Hyde nodded. "Yeah, she's asleep. Any sign of Jackie yet?"

"Nope, so it looks like there really is a god and tonight he's listening to Eric Forman!" Eric did a lame fist pump before Donna elbowed him hard in the ribs.

"Shut up, Eric," she said.

"Well, alls I can say is that she better not be fuckin' drinking, coz she said she'd drive us home and I'm already drunk." Hyde threw his empty cup on the ground and kicked it around. He was meant to be having a good time tonight. Having some laughs. Shooting the breeze. But all he was doing was thinking about damn Jackie.

It was pissing him off.

"She won't be drinking, Hyde," Donna said, wrapping a blanket around her and Eric, protecting them from the cool evening breeze. "She wouldn't drink when she knows she has to breastfeed."

"Well where the hell is she then? She better be here when I'm ready to go home. I ain't walking."

Just then a vision in polyester arrived at the hedge holding a large pitcher of something fruity.

"Fez told you all he would deliver and he did!" Fez threw everybody a fresh plastic cup and Hyde frowned. He wanted a fresh beer, not a fresh empty cup.

"What did ya get us, Fez?" Kelso asked, coming up for air.

"Pina coladas! The girls in the pool house have all the best stuff." Starting with Donna, Fez made his way around the gang pouring them each a cocktail, finishing them all off with a little paper umbrella. "They even have decorations for their drinks in there!" he exclaimed. "It's like a whole other world beyond the pool."

Hyde scoffed at the umbrella, tossing it over his shoulder, but drank the drink anyway. He would never admit it, but he did quite enjoy the pineapple concoction.

"Gimme another one, Fez," he said, holding out his cup.

Fez shook his head and frowned. "No way, mister. You threw your little umbrella away and you do not know the lengths I had to go to get those fine things!"

"C'mon, Fez..."

"No!"

"Just pour him a drink, Fez," Eric said between sips of his own cocktail. "He's just in a grump because his satanic girlfriend has done a runner."

"Shut up, Forman. She's not my girlfriend."

Eric shrugged. "Baby mama, friend with benefits, friend with no benefits...I'm running out of labels, dude."

"Are you talking about Jackie?" Fez asked handing Hyde a new drink.

"We're talking about no one." Hyde downed the drink in one go. Shit he was gonna pay for it tomorrow.

Fez sat down next to Hyde. "Oh, because if you were talking about Jackie I was going to say she's fast asleep in the pool house. I tried to wake her up because she is missing all the fun, but she's out like a candle."

"I think you mean like a light," Donna corrected him.

"That makes no sense..."

Two minutes later Hyde was in the pool house dodging cheerleaders and jocks left, right and center. He hadn't thought to ask Fez exactly where in the joint Jackie was asleep. Probably because his brain was stupid on pina coladas.

A cheer came from over by the pool table and when Hyde looked over he spotted Pauline holding a pool cue jumping up and down. He walked over, ignoring Kat's lecherous advances as he passed her.

"Hey, Pauline," Hyde said, tapping her on the shoulder.

"Oh my god, Hyde!" she squealed. "Everybody, it's Hyde!"

Hyde did his best not to turn red as a chorus of "Yay, Hyde" rung out in the pool house.

Pauline dropped the cue on the floor and put both of her hands on Hyde's shoulders. The girl was plastered. Hyde only hoped Jackie hadn't had any of what Pauline had had.

"Hyde, we've been looking for you everywhere," she started, her words sloppy, her breath reeking of booze. "We want some stuff, and we know stuff is your business."

Damien Fullerton, the captain of the basketball team was soon by Pauline's side. "Yeah, Hyde, and we got the money," he said pulling out a wad of twenty dollar bills.

Dammit. Drunk rich kids with stacks of cash. Hyde could've made a fortune but his stupid brain was more worried about finding Jackie.

"Yeah, look, I'll hook you guys up in a bit. First I gotta find Jackie." He looked hard at Pauline. "Pauline, where's Jackie?"

Almost in slow motion Pauline pointed to a door just off the kitchenette. "She's in there, fast asleep," she told Hyde. "She was so tired coz she's a mommy now. And you're a daddy, Hyde! Everyone! Hyde is a daddy and his baby is sooooooo cute! Little Tyler is sooooo cute, everybody..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." Hyde said as everyone erupted into 'aaawwwws'. He pushed through the crowd and made it to the room. When he opened the door he saw Jackie curled up on a single bed, her little high heels placed neatly on the floor beside her. She was holding her handbag tightly in her arms. Fearful that she was unconscious Hyde shook her shoulders hard.

"Jackie! Wake up! What did you take?!"

Should he slap her? That's what he would've done if it were Forman, Kelso or Fez. But he just couldn't slap her pretty face. But he could throw water at it if it meant saving her life. He picked up a glass on the beside table and sniffed it to make sure it wasn't vodka. Lemonade - he shrugged, that'd do. Just as he stood to throw it, Jackie opened her eyes.

"Steven! Oh my god! Don't!" she yelled.

Hyde stopped himself before the liquid left the glass.

"Fuck, are you okay?" he said, sitting down next to her on the bed. He felt her head, she was a little warm. Then he pulled her eyelids to check her eyes, not that he knew what they were meant to be like. She swatted his hands away angrily.

"Stop it, you idiot! What the hell are you doing?"

"What did you take?" he asked her, visually examining her thoroughly. She looked okay in his opinion, just a little pissed off.

"I haven't taken anything!" she growled before pushing him off the bed and standing up. She slipped her feet into her shoes and glared at him.

Now Hyde was getting annoyed. He got up from the ground and straightened out his t-shirt.

"Well if you didn't take anything why the hell were you passed out like that?"

"Um, maybe because I haven't had a decent night's sleep in two months?" Jackie answered.

Hyde raised an eyebrow. "And you figured you'd get some z's while 150 kids partied around you?"

Jackie shrugged, her cheeks turning a shade of pink. "Why not? Nothing else to do."

"Thought you were catching up with your friends?"

"I did. Then they got drunk and I got tired. I lay down and figured I'd have a little rest while I waited for you." Jackie smoothed out her hair and adjusted her top. She looked sleepy, and slightly embarrassed. She didn't need to be.

It had to be the stupid pina coladas that made Hyde reach out and brush the back of his fingers up and down her warm cheek, because surely he wouldn't have done that had he been sober?

"Look, I'm sorry for waking you like that. You should've just told me you were tired and we could've gone home," he said softly, stepping in closer to her.

She frowned and took a step toward him. "But you were having a good time, I didn't want to ruin the night for you."

"You wouldn't have been ruining it, Jackie. Kelso ruined it when he didn't jump off the roof. It was always gonna be downhill from there for me." Hyde smiled and hooked an arm around Jackie's waist. There was no denying the relief he felt when she returned his gesture with two arms around his own. She was so warm and sleepy, and she smelled like the vanilla shampoo Kitty wouldn't let the boys in the house use. If Hyde couldn't hear the basketball team yelling, 'scull scull scull' in the next room, it would've been like he was in heaven.

And if Damian hadn't burst in the room and said, "are we ready to do business, Hyde?", Hyde maybe would've tried to kiss her.

But instead he sold $40 worth of green stuff for $80 and kept his arm around Jackie's shoulders as they walked to the car.

"So what exactly is the time?" she asked as she started the Camino.

Hyde checked his watch. "8.40."

He closed his eyes while Jackie maneuvered the car out of the park, and bit his tongue when he heard the hubcap scrape the edge of the sidewalk. It was only a hubcap, it wasn't worth fighting about.

"8.40, huh?" Jackie glanced over at him. "We really are like old people, leaving a party before 10."

"Watch the road, Jackie," Hyde warned. "And some of us are more like old people than others, some of us actually fall asleep at parties."

He watched as Jackie raised her eyebrow. "Hmmm, but some of us complain about headaches at parties...which is worse?"

"Fuck knows." Hyde relaxed back in his seat, relieved Jackie was okay, happy to be going home to his baby girl, thrilled to have ripped off some jocks. "Hey, so I made 80 bucks tonight. You want me to buy you something shiney?"

"I would love something shiney, Hyde," Jackie replied, flicking the indicator left to head to the Hub.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews! I love 'em!**_


	32. Chapter 32

_One week later..._

The little bell that hung above the Hub's door jingled, catching Jackie's attention. She looked up just as two teenage lovebirds giggled their way out of the dingy diner. That had to be the last of them. Girls and satin dresses had taken up every inch of the Hub and if Jackie had to tell one more of them how great they looked she was going to die.

Hyde glanced across his shoulder then back at Jackie. "You still sure you don't wanna go?" he asked.

"Positive," Jackie answered with a curt nod of her head, just to prove her point.

"Cause, y'know, it's not too late..."Hyde repositioned himself on his chair, his movements awkward, his expression almost pained. He was so out of his comfort zone he may as well have been on another planet. For a second Jackie toyed with the idea of messing with him. Telling him 'yes, let's do it, let's go to the prom!'. But that would be cruel. And she'd had enough of being cruel to the guy.

"Steven, for the tenth time in two days, I do not want to go to the prom, okay?" The relief in Hyde's eyes wasn't lost on Jackie and she smiled. "Would it help if I wrote that down for you? Maybe hired a plane to carry a banner across the sky?"

Hyde rolled his eyes and tossed a French fry at her. "I'm just making sure okay? Damn, you flapped your trap about it for months then all of a sudden you don't wanna go anymore. I don't want this comin' back to bite me in the ass." He sipped his Coke before smirking. "Actually, yeah, write that shit down...not in the sky, but on paper...just so I have concrete evidence that you said no to the lamest school dance on earth."

"Whatever." Jackie poked her tongue out but she knew her eyes were smiling. It was getting hard to conceal her nonchalance toward Hyde these days. He was like an itch that couldn't be ignored, an urge that needed attention, and for the last week attention was exactly what she'd been giving him.

And he'd seemed to like to it. So much so he'd even asked her to go to the prom with him.

There had been a shift in their relationship and although Jackie couldn't pinpoint exactly when it'd happened, she supposed it was probably after Simon's party. Once Hyde had saved her from pool house hell they had spent his earnings on greasy burgers and actually shared a laugh together. If there was one 'thing' they had between them it was the joint enthusiasm to laugh at other people's expense, and boy did they laugh.

Hyde checked the time on his watch. "It's been over an hour now, you think Fez has scared his date off yet?"

"Duh, Steven, she would've run screaming from the Vineyard at least 50 minutes ago," Jackie said, imagining Fez groping the hell out of Sharon Claredon in the parking lot of the fancy restaurant. Just the thought of it made her shudder. "I'm still in shock she agreed to go with him. I mean, how desperate is that girl?"

"She gets a free dinner at the Vineyard, not a bad trade if you ask me. I'd do more for less."

Jackie smiled. "Really? I seem to remember a trip to the mall costing me dinner and a new pair of boots. You're far more expensive to hire than nasty Sharon Claredon."

"But way more worth it, right?" Hyde grinned.

Jackie's eyes dipped to Hyde's broad chest and she found she couldn't disagree with him. If she had the money she'd happily buy him another pair of boots just for taking her out tonight.

"Of course. Sharon is as skanky as they come. Fez might be foreign but I firmly believe he could do better than her," said Jackie, before quickly adding, "But don't ever tell him I said that!"

"My lips are sealed." Hyde winked. "Wouldn't wanna go ruining that rep of yours, you've spent years building that up."

"Which rep is that? Bitchy cheerleader, slutty teen mom or bitchy teen mom with no parents?"

"First one."

Jackie nodded her head proudly and squared her shoulders. "Yeah, that's my favorite one."

"I like that one too," Hyde agreed. "Especially the uniform that goes with it." Jackie's skin warmed at his suggestive line, the third one he'd let drop that evening.

"Y'know, for someone who claims to hate cheerleading, you seem to really like cheerlead _ers_ ," Jackie teased.

"Not cheerlead _ers_ plural," said Hyde, leaning in on the table. "Just one in particular."

The heat rose to Jackie's cheeks and despite knowing Hyde had _really liked_ other cheerleaders in the past she was going to ignore that fact and bask in the moment.

"Oh yeah? Do I know her" she asked as innocently as she could.

Hyde shrugged. "Probably, she's that damn loud it'd be hard not to notice her. And I should know, I spent years trying to avoid her."

Pursing her lips, Jackie decided to let that insult slide. She knew Hyde well enough now to decipher banter from actual cruelty - hell, since the Kelso/prom debacle almost all she'd had from him was cruel insults. But the past week had been different. They'd let go of the old crap and the banter between them was good. His banter was comforting. It reassured Jackie that she and Hyde were getting close again. And she prayed that soon they'd be even closer.

"So," Hyde wiped his mouth with the back of his hand - a habit that irked the heck out of Jackie but one of many she was learning to ignore. "What do we do now?"

A quick scan of the empty Hub signaled that Jackie's work there was done - it was confirmed that had she been going to prom she would've hands down been the prettiest. No pea green taffeta monstrosity could've outdone her elegant pink gown.

"Well, the show here is over so I guess we do whatever you want to do now." God she was maturing. Did Hyde even appreciate how lucky he was to have input into their first technical date?

"What I want to do now involves a tin and a water tower, n I don't know about you but I don't think it'll be easy gettin' her up those steps." Hyde nodded toward the sleeping baby snuggled in her car seat on the bench by Jackie. Her cherub face was a warm pink contrasted sharply by long, dark eyelashes that flickered slightly as her little chest rose and fell. Baby Tyler was so perfect, but what on earth was Jackie thinking bringing her on the first date.

"Maybe I should've listened to you and left her with Mrs. Forman," Jackie said, a little disheartened. "This is a date after all..."

Hyde frowned. "This isn't a date, Jackie..."

"It's a date."

"No. It's two parents hangin' out with their kid at night."

Heat rose in Jackie's chest as she prepared to recount to her date the sequence of events that led them to being _on this date_.

 _He,_ she would tell him _, after settling the baby on Thursday night, had popped them some popcorn and seated himself next to her on the manky old couch in the basement. It was weird, Jackie remembered, the feeling of Hyde next to her on the couch. It'd been months since they'd curled up together without fear of being caught and it had been weeks since either of them had even wanted to. But here they were, two young parents, tired from an afternoon at the park, eating popcorn, watching whatever the hell it was on the television, both struggling to keep their eyes open._

 _"So," Hyde had said, when nearly all the popcorn was gone from the bowl. "Um, it's prom this weekend."_

 _Jackie nodded wearily, too tired to get into another argument about prom, too content to just lay on the couch with her head on Hyde's shoulder._

 _She heard Hyde swallow and could tell he was wetting his lips. In a little under a year Jackie had learned nearly every one of Hyde's idiosyncrasies and she'd bet she knew the man better than anyone else in his whole life._

 _"Um, so yeah, I was thinking, we could like, go if you want?"_

 _Jackie's breath had hitched as she looked up at Hyde. "To prom? Me and you? But you hate prom?"_

 _"But you love it. So if you wanna go I guess I could suck it up n take you."_

 _It hadn't been the invitation of a lifetime but for Jackie, in that moment, Hyde might as well have been wearing a suit of armor riding a white horse. Doves could've been released into a clear blue sky, and Karen Carpenter could've been standing on the stairs serenading them. It was so completely unexpected, and so utterly sweet, that all Jackie could do was throw her arms around Hyde's neck._

 _Caught off guard, he'd said, "Woah! So that's a yes I take it?"_

 _The bowl of popcorn that was once on Hyde's lap was swiftly pushed onto the floor as Jackie's butt replaced it. Hyde had raised an eyebrow at her bolshiness but his arms quickly wrapped around her waist and he pulled her in close._

 _Weeks. For weeks Jackie had been deprived of Hyde's embraces. Of his endearing looks. Of his kisses. Of him._

 _And that was why the only answer she could give him was, "No. That's a no to prom, Steven."_

 _He had been surprised to say the least. After all he did know Jackie pretty well so had been all set to 'suck it up' and make her happy. Which is why she had decided to make him happy instead, by not going to prom._

 _"Well how about a date then?" Hyde had asked as Jackie's lips hovered so close over his she could almost taste him._

 _"A proper date?" she had whispered into his mouth._

 _Hyde nodded slowly, eagerness forcing his bottom lip to quiver. "A proper date," he agreed._

"And then you kissed me and here we are, on our date," Jackie said matter-of-factly before popping a fry into her mouth.

"Pfft, you kissed me."

Amused at Hyde's apparent lack of memory Jackie busied herself stacking the empty food baskets on the table. Using a serviette she brushed the sprinkles of salt strewn across the table into her hand and dusted it off into a tray. Once the table was a more organized form of mess, she reached into her purse and pulled out her lip gloss.

Hyde eyed her curiously. "You've been hangin' out with Mrs. Forman too long."

Smacking her glossy lips together Jackie assessed her handy work and shrugged. Maybe she was turning Mrs. Forman-y-like, but now she was a mom she figured there were worse people she could be like. Much, much worse. Tidying up after herself and her child was far better than abandoning them.

"But I'm still a bitchy cheerleader," she stated proudly.

"That you are, Jackie. That you are," said Hyde as he picked up the car seat and followed Jackie out of the Hub.

Ten minutes later Jackie was standing in the Formans' kitchen watching Mrs. Forman wash dishes, wondering how Hyde had figured a bite to eat at the Hub fit into the category of first date.

"So you had a nice night, dear?" Kitty asked as she scrubbed a frying pan clean.

Jackie forced her lips into a smile. "Yeah, it was okay," she said, picking up a dish cloth. If her night was over she may as well help the one woman who actually gave a shit about her.

"I'm still surprised you didn't want to go to the prom," Kitty mused, soap suds reaching her elbows. "The kids were that excited when they left here! Didn't Donna look gorgeous? Although I still think she needed her hair up. Don't you agree?"

"I suppose," Jackie semi-agreed.

She thought about the events prior to her non-date with Hyde. The gang had been excited as they'd headed off to the Vineyard for dinner, all bow ties and corsages and hidden hipflasks in back pockets. For a moment Jackie had wished she'd been tumbling into the Cruiser with them, yelling at Fez to get off her dress, ordering Kelso to keep his hands to himself. But then she had looked at Hyde. He was leaning against the banister of the stairs, not watching Kitty fix Eric's tie, not watching Bob take a hundred photos of Donna in her black dress. The only person who Hyde was focused on was Jackie. His mouth turned up in small grin, his hands tucked into pockets trying to convey a picture of casualness. In that moment, amongst all the chaos, Jackie knew she'd made the right decision to stay home with Hyde. Even if it did mean drying dishes with Kitty at 7.30pm.

"Poor girl," said Kitty, breaking Jackie's reverie. "She doesn't have a mother around telling her what to do with her hair. Which is why I wish she would listen to me. I guess she thinks I'm not hip enough or whatever it is you kids call it these days."

"Don't mind Donna, Mrs. Forman," Jackie said, reaching for another plate to wipe. "You're way more hip than she'll ever be. She's a redhead remember? There's not enough hair dye in Wisconsin that'll alter the fact she has no taste whatsoever."

Kitty let out the sink and pulled off her yellow rubber gloves. "Ha ha ha! Oh, Jackie, I just love having you around!"

Before Jackie could tell Mrs. Forman just how much she loved being around, the kitchen door swung open and Hyde walked in. He cocked an eyebrow when he saw Jackie wiping dishes.

"She's out like a light," he said, referring to Tyler. "I swear to God all that baby does is eat and sleep, man."

Jackie begged to differ. "Steven, I swear to God that baby is awake all day looking for a boob to suck on or a new Vogue to spew all over. Every time I open a new magazine it's wet with baby drool or vomit before I get a chance to read it."

"Maybe she's trying to tell you something, Jackie? Like those magazines are a big, fat waste of money."

"Those magazines are what separate me from every other girl in Wisconsin." The dishes dry, Jackie plonked the wet dish cloth on the counter and narrowed her eyes. "They are what keep me miles ahead of everybody else on the fashion front. They are how I know what colours are in next season, or what length my skirt needs to be next winter...they are my lifeline to the world of fashion, Steven. They are not a waste of money!"

The night was all but ruined, Jackie could just feel it. Her lungs filled with air and she just knew once Hyde started yelling at her about how shallow she was she was going to cry. Then, once Hyde was yelling and Jackie was crying, Mrs. Forman would start drinking then start yelling and crying herself. It was all a mess.

But, as Jackie stared at the linoleum covered floor holding her breath so as not to cry, she felt Hyde's hand wrap around her own. With his other hand he tilted her chin up to look at him and, out of nowhere, he smiled the sweetest smile.

"Jackie, what separates you from every other girl in Wisconsin is _you_ , man," he softly said. "You are way smarter, way more bad ass, way hotter, and way kinder than any other girl in this whole state. You don't need those magazines, but if you think you do, then I'll replace any that my daughter had the good sense to puke all over, okay?"

For a moment there was silence as Jackie struggled to find the right words to say to Hyde. She wanted to blurt out an _I love you!_ but the Formans' kitchen, with Mrs. Forman in it, just wasn't where Jackie wanted to utter those magical words. So she left the 'awwwwwws' and head tilts to Mrs. Forman and let Hyde lead her out of the room.

Halfway down the stairs Hyde stopped and turned to look at her. "Hey," he started, still limply holding her hand, "I know tonight hasn't been the greatest first date in history, but, y'know, it's kinda hard with a kid in tow."

After his speech in the kitchen Jackie wouldn't have cared if he'd taken her on a date to the backyard. Tonight was going down in her diary as the best night ever - aside from the night Tyler was born of course.

"Steven, tonight has been great." She smiled down at Hyde, cupping his cheek in her hand. "I wouldn't change in thing." Well that was a bit of a lie...she'd have preferred to have not done the washing up on a date.

Hyde descended another stair and said, "Look, it's not much, but you didn't get to go to prom. You didn't actually get to go anywhere except the Hub which is a place you go to most days. So I figured this was about the best I could do given the circumstances."

Letting Hyde lead her Jackie took the last few steps down the stairs before being greeted with a picture of near perfection. The disgusting basement was still fairly disgusting, but it's main features had been prettied up. Covering the old couch was a soft blue throw - a throw Jackie had bought Hyde one day last summer after growing tired of his army green cot blanket. He'd never used it, but obviously kept it. One of Mrs. Forman's lace tablecloths was haphazardly placed over the wagon wheel, atop of which were numerous scented candles.

"Like I said, it's not much..."

The air was thick with a heavenly vanilla aroma, and the flickers of candle light offered just enough light in the dark room.

"Oh my god, it's perfect!" Jackie flung herself onto Hyde and peppered his lips with kisses.

"There's a movie on at 8," he said as Jackie continued to kiss every inch of bare skin on his face. "We have soda n popcorn, figured it'd be like being at the movies, without actually being at the movies."

Forcing herself to halt her onslaught of affection, Jackie pulled away from Hyde but still kept his hands firmly entwined with her own.

"Steven, I love it!" she exclaimed through heavy breaths. "I don't know how you managed to pull it off but this is like the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"It's not sweet, it's practical," stated Hyde, his words dripping with discomfort. "With the kid upstairs we didn't have any other options."

Jackie raised a brow and squeezed his hand. She imagined him down in the basement, lighting each candle, carefully arranging the throw...

The thought made her heart melt.

"Well if this is practical then I'll take it over romance any day," mused Jackie, falling onto the couch with Hyde right behind her.

"You know I'm not into all that romantic crap," Hyde said while Jackie got herself comfortable in his arms.

She stifled a giggle. "Oh I know that, Steven. This isn't romantic at all."

"Damn right it's not."

The next few hours were spent right there, Jackie curled in Hyde's arms while their friends danced away the night in the school hall. But Jackie didn't even spare a thought on them, her mind too focused on the present. On Hyde. There was so much they needed to talk about. So many questions that needed to be answered. His graduation was right around the corner and it's aftermath was gnawing away at Jackie like a mouse on a wire.

Was he going to college, or was he staying with them?

"What are you thinkin' about?" Hyde whispered as the credits rolled on the movie.

Startled, Jackie looked up and her eyes were captured by Hyde's baby blues. His face was so calm and so gorgeous and she so desperately wanted to ask him what his plans were. Ask him if he was sticking around. Ask him if she was worth sticking around for.

But she couldn't. Not tonight.

Nothing was going to ruin tonight.

So she answered him, "Nothing," and carried on enjoying the moment.

Whatever lay ahead could wait until tomorrow.

* * *

 ** _A/N: Wouldn't have a clue if anyone is still reading this but I have a couple of days off so logged into FF for the first time in MONTHS. Saw this chapter was almost finished so thought I'd post and see if it made anyone a little happy :)I still remember how this little fic was going to end and it's about 1 or 2 chapters away from finished. Hopefully this little spark of inspiration will stay and I'll get it done real soon. xxx_**


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